T i»: ^ r.S V". •*,^ *. '.'.-^' ,.,^^', ;:i- .vV' BOY'S OWN BOOK; A COMPLETE ENCYCLOPEDIA A^& wmm Bswmm^E@M^^ ATHLETIC, SCIENTIFIC, AND RECREATIVE, OF R^YHOOD AND YOUTH. A playground is an emblem of the world ; Its gamesome boys are men in miniature : The most important action of the man May find its parody 'mong childhood's sports J And life itself, when longest, happiest, — In boyhood's brief and jocund holiday. SECOND AMERICAN EDITION. BOSTON: MUNROE AND FRANCIS, 128 WASHINGTON-STREET; AND CHARLES S. FRANCIS, NEW-YORK. a-l//2.' PRELUDE. A POPULAR ENCYCLOPEDIA of the Sports and Pastimes of Youth, — a companion for all holydiiys,— The Boy's own Book, — unmixed with aught that was not highly interesting to himself, had long been a deside- ratum ; to SLipplj'^ which, he was usually led to become his own caterer, and purchase publications of an objectionable character, merely because dieir low price placed them within his reach. The present Work was an attempt to obviate this inconvenience, by enabling those, who had the guardianship of youth, to present their young proteges, in the form of a Holyday or Birthday Present, with a concentration of all that usuallr delights them, executed in such a manner as their own judgment would approve, and much more amusing and instructive to the juvenile mind, ,thasi the cheap trash on which the hoarded shilling is usually expended* The event has fully justified the expectations of the Publishers ; few works have met with so flattering a reception, from the press and the public ; tlie whole of the first edition, which extended to three thousand copies, having been sold without advertisements, in little more than two months. The present edition contains many alterations and improvements : it is augmented, in bulli, by an extra half sheet ; and, in quantity of matter, nearly a sheet and a half, by an increase in the size of its pages : the articles have all been improved, and some of them re-written, and the volume is enriched witli many new engravings of superior design and execution. PRELUDE. A wider field than we have taken cannot well be imagined. Our plan embraces the amusements* of all minds, and of all seasons, — in win* ter and in summer, — at home and abroad ; the robust and the delicate, — the contemplative and the ingenious, — have each their tastes provided for. The sports and exercises of out-door enjoyment, — the pastimes. of a winter's fire-side, — ^and the recreation of science, — are copiously detail- ed in our pages, which have been printed in a close type, that we might be enabled to compress a whole library of sportful lore in the brief compass of one little volume. "We can honestly say, that no pains have been spared to do justice to our plan. We have attempted to please Seniors and Juniors,— no easy task; but our failure can only be partial, for should we be condemned by a few, we are sure that the many will be in oiir favor ; and that a host of advocates, appreciating our industry and oar motives, would cheerfully undertake, on our behalf, the task of a pleader. So far the London Preface. The American publishers have omitted a few articles, entirely useless on this side the Atlantic, as the extra expense would have debarred the more useful part from being in the hands of hundreds of Youths, who will find everything that will amuse them in our pi'esent volume. The articles omitted are, a long treatise on Chess, Singing Birds, Silk-Worms, &c. the insertion of which would have swell- ed the expense to double its present price, and given no real additional value to the Boy's own Book. Boston, November 1, CONTENTS, Paoe Games "vvith Marbles 9 Games with Tots 13 Games wtth Balls 15 Sports of Agility and Speed 21 Sports with Toys 25 Miscellaneous Sports 29 Deaf and Dumb Alphabet 39 Archery 43 Cricket 51 Gymnastics 57 Swimming 75 Arithmetical Amusements 95 Optical Amusements 109 Chemical Amusements 125 Draughts, or Checkers 139 Feats of Legerdemain 149 CONTENTS. Pack Tricks with Cards 195 Paradoxes axd Puzzles 207 Varieties 223 The Riddleb 231 Angling 263 Rabbits 273 Guinea Pigs 281 Pigeons 283 Fencing Md BOY'S OWN BOOK. MINOR SPORTS AND PASTIMES. Blithe Boyhood is the holyday of life ; The joyous spirits then impart a zest To tops and marbles, which man's graver toys, Though bought at golden prices, ever lack. We heartily trust tiiat our young readers will commence the perusal of dlir pages with pleasure equal to that which we feel in sitting down to write tJiera, and that we shall go pleasantly together through our work. The description of these Minor Sports, most especially, will, we are convinced, be an agreeable pdstime to us, and call up, from time to time, welcome reminiscences of those days of our boyhood, when we were a hero at " Ring- taw," and by no means a contemptible adversary even to the most accom- plished youthful players at " Fives." It will remind us of our happy holydays and favourite school-fellows ; — of feats of agility performed at " Follow my Leader," and trophies borne off in triumph at "Peg in the Ring;" — of those merry mornings, when the first glance of the sun awakened us, to snatch an additional half-hour for the play-ground, without encroaching on the allotted times for study ; — when, during " winter's surly reign," we joined the active {ew, who, instead of moping in great coats, or shivering round a fire, sallied forth into the clear, cold, invigorating air, and marking out goals and bounds in the crisp hoar frost that mantled the ground, souglit 8 MINOR SPORTS. after, and found warmth and high spirits in a game of " Prisoner's Base,'* — or made the brows glow at lofty " Leap-frog," — or defied the frost by briskly plying the whij>top with eel-skin, and came in with glad hearts^ ruddy cheeks, perfect willingness, and the best of appetites, to our morning repast and subsequent studies. It will bring to our recollection also, those smooth and shady spots, where, when tlie noontide sun was midway in the heavens, in the sultry month of August, we alternately perused pleasant and instructive books, and played with our class-mates at " Increase- pound," or set up a pyramid of marbles for them to shoot at, or shot at one erected by one of them. It will carry us back in imagination to the hills and downs, where we flew our kites, — the loftiest soarers for miles around ; —of mishaps, through breaking of strings, and long races of rivalry after our falling favorites ; — to that cheerful parlour, in which, during the win- ter vacation, when mince-pies, plum-puddings, and young parties, were most abundant, — on Christmas-eve, or mirthful Twelfth-night, most espe- cially, — we bore a part in the exhilarating and harmless fireside s]>()rts of the season ; — to that dilapidated ruin, — the court of that mouldering castle, with a tall and stately elm rising from one of its corners, and ivy, apparently ages okl, tiie constant home and nestling-place of innumerable bir. which bedecked and supported the outward side of its walls, — the scene of our chief exploits at Fives; — to the garden walk, where our school-swing was erected, between two gigantic sister pear-trees ; — and, in brief, to all those places where we played the games which were the delight of our holydays i when a sportive bout at " Saddle my Nag," was in itself an ample recom- pense for the past two hours of study, employed in working an intricate (juestion in arithmetic — composing a theme on some difficult subject — ren- dering a portion of tlie Iliad into Latin hexameters, or a passage of Pope into French prose. We conceive that we are bringing no disgrace on our boyhood, by avowing that we deeply enjoyed the sports of the play-ground. The line of a talented writer, " A dunce at Syntax, but a dab at taw," has, by a thoughtless few, been converted into a proverb, and those who were most eminent for their activity and love of the usual amusements of youth out of school, have thus been unjustly stigmatized as inattentive students. The reverse, we have generally found to be the fact; for, we have often remarked, that the lads who led the sports in the play-ground, stood high in their classes in the school-room. " There is a time for all things," is a trite, hut, in this case, an appl'cable observation : the scholastic discipline wisely allots certain hours in the day for recreation ; they should be empi<)yed in liealthful and agreeable pastime, so as to render the boy prepared to return with mental vigour to his books ; — study should give a relish to sport, and sport to study. But while we recommend that the school-room should be forgotten on the play-ground, we wish to impress on our young readers tlie necessity of their forgetting the play -ground in the school-room. MINOR SPORTS. 11 the vanquished is added to those of the victory thus, if my taw having ah*eady split twenty marbles, conquers another that has split twenty, my taw then becomes a conqueror of forty-one, — that is, twenty, its previous Bcore ; twenty, the vanquished taw's score, and one for the broken taw itself. In the west of England, the game of" The Conqueror" is also play- ed, with small, hard, variegated shells, which are found in old banks, and from which the snails, their former inhabitants, have disappeared. The ehell is held in the forefinger of the right hand, and its beak pushed vigo- rously against that of the adversai'y's ; the shell which breaks is, of course, conquered. ARCH-BOARD. This game, in some parts of England, is called " Nine-holes ;" it has various names, and is sometimes played with iron bullets instead of marbles*. The marbles are bowled at a board set upright, resembling a bridge, with nine small arches, all of them numbered ; if the marble strike against the sides of the arches, it becomes the property of the boy to whom the board belongs ; but, if it go through any one of them, the bowler claims a num- ber eqir sto the number upon the arch it passed through. We have seen the boards, in this game, marked above some of the arches with nihils, in this order :— 5, 0, 1, 2, 0, 3, 0, 4, 0. In some places, where there are no nihils on the board, and the numbers go beyond five, the bowler not only loses his marble, if it strike against the sides of the arches, but also gives the board-keeper a marble each time he bowls. RING-TAVyr. The rules of Ring-taw vary in different jjlaces ,* the following are the most general : — A circle is drawn, into which each party places as many marbles as may be agreed on. A line, called the ofhno', is then drawn at some distance, from which each in turn shoots at'^flle' ring. Shooting a marble out of the ring, entitles the shooter to go on again, and thus the ring may be sometimes cleared by a good player, before his companion or companions have a chance. After the first fire, the players return no more to the offing, but shoot, when their turn comes, from the place where theijp marbles rested on the last occasion. Every marble struck out of the ring, is won by the striking party ; but if the taw at any time remain in the ring, the player is not only out, but if he have, previously, in the course of the game, struck out any marbles, he must put them in the ring again. And if one player strike with his taw the taw of another, the player whose taw is so struck, is out ; and if he have, previously, shot any marbles out of the circle, he must hand them over to the party by whose taw his has been so struck. 12 MINOR SPORTS. INCREASE-POUND. This is superior to any other game with marbles. It differs from " Ring^- taw'* in the following particulars : — If, previously to any marble or shoC being struck out of the ring or pound, the taw of one of the players be gti'uck by the taw of another, (except that of his partner,) or in case he shoot his taw within the pound, in either case, he puts a shot in the ring, and before either of the others play, shoots from the offing and continues in the game ; but if the first of these events occur after one or more shots have been struck out of the pound, if he have previously, during that game, obtained any shots himself, he hands them over to the party who has struck him, and also puts a shot in as before, previously to his shooting from the offing>; but if he have previously obtained no shots during the game, he is put out of the game entirely, or "killed," by his taw being so struck; and again, if after a shot or shots have been struck out of the pound, his taw get within it, (on the line is nothing,) he puts his shots, if he have obtained any, with an additional one, into the pound, and shoots from the offing ; but if he have not obtained a shot or shots after his taw so remains within the ring, " or gets fat," as it is called, he is " killed," and stands out for the remainder of the game. When there is only one marble left in the ring, the taw may then remain inside it, without being " fat" at this game. I'he players seldom put more than one marble each in the ring at first. THE PYRAMID. A small circle is drawn on the ground, within which, one player builds a |)yramid, by placing three marbles triangularly, and a fourth in the centre, on the top of tiiem. Any other player may then shoot at the pyramid, at an agreed distance, by giving, for each time of shooting, to the one who keeps the pyramid, a marble. If the shooter strike the pyramid with his taw, as many of tiie mar- bles composing the pyra- mid, as may be driven m\t _ of the circle, belong to the shooter, and the pyramid is constantly to be kept up complete by its owner. This is a good in-door game ; variety and addi- tional interest may be given to it, by each player taking the office of pyra^ mid-keeper, at stated intervals. MINOR SPORTS. IS GAMES WITH TOPS HUMMING-TOP. Humming-tops, of various sizes, are to be bought at the toy-shops ; verjp little art is necessary to use them. After the string is wound about the up- right piece, one end of it is taken in one hand, and the handle of the fork- piece in the other ; the string is then to be pulled off with force, and th& top is set up WHIP-TOP. This is an excellent amusement. The top is easily set up by twirling it with both hands on a smooth surface, and applying the whip with gentleness at first, increasing the vigour of the blows, as the top gets firm on its peg* There is a local variety of the whip-top, which is too singular for us to pass unnoticed. We allude to tha Colchester top, of which an engraving is presented ift the margin. Its construction is most simple, and, fojp spinning, it is said considerably to excel the tops made in the common form. The only games we have ever seen with whip-tops, are *' races" and "encounters;" in the former, the object is to flog Che top to a certain distance first ; in the latter, the tops are whipped against each other until one is knocked down. The est material for a whip, at this capital sport, is an eel-skin ; it far surpasses cord, or leather thongs. 14 MINOR SPORTS. In this favorite game considerable dexterity may be acquired by prac- tice. About London, peg-tops are, in general, only used for the purpose of being spun, and taken up to " sleep," as it is called, in wooden spoons, which are sold at the toy-shops for that purpose ; but elsewhere, regular games at peg-top are played, in wliich the victors carry off capital steel pegs as trophies of their prowess at the sport. A circle, whose diameter is about a yard, is first drawn on a smooth piece of ground, (pavement is objectional for this game,) and several players surround it. One volunteers to commence ; he throws his top inside the circle, and the others are at liberty to cast theirs at it, so long as it remains within the ring ; the moment it rolls out, he may take it up, and peg at those which still remain inside, The object of each player being to split the tops of his companions, if he succeed in any case, he keeps the peg of the split top as the spoil of his victory. If either of the players do not cast his top within the ring, or if he attempt to take it out, or if he fail to set it spinning when he throws, or if it do not spin out, or after it ceases spinning, roll out of the circle, it is called " a dead top," and must be placed in the centre of the ring for the others to peg at. When it is knocked out again without being split, the player to whom it belongs, takes it up, and plays away as before. Sometimes half-a-dozen dead tops are driven out of the ring by one cast, without any of them being damaged, and indeed, if they be made of good box, it is but rarely that they split. A top with a long peg is best at this game, as it is more calculated to swerve out of the ring after it is spun j a top that sleeps after it is cast, runs the greatest danger, and those that sleep most, are heavy bodied tops with short blunt pegs. It is advisable to wind the cord round nearly three parts of the peg, as well as the top, and to use a button at the end instead of a loop. The Spanish ^^ peg-top, of which we give a cut in the margin, is ^^^^ made of fine mahogany, and tapered off less abruptly ~^m ^w toward the peg than the English tops. The peg is =^^v /f -- - ^®^y short, of an uniform thickness, and rounded, ^S=W^^^^i not pointed, at the end. These tops spin nearly up- •j) on the backs of those who are on before them, they lose, and the otlier party i:>ecome riders, and they nags. PUSS IN THE CORNER. This is a very simple, but at the same time, a very lively and amusinff game. It is played by five only ; and the place chosen for the sport should be a s(juare coiut or yard with four corners, or any place where there are four trees or posts, about equi-distant from each other, and forming the four points of a scjuare. Each of these points or corners is occupied by a play- er ; the fifth, who is called Puss, stands in the centre. The game now com- mences ; the players exchange corners in all directions : it is the object of the one who stands out, to occupy any of the corners which may remain vacant for an instant during the exchanges. When he succeeds in so doing, that player who is left without a corner becomes the Puss. It is to be observed that if A and B attempt to exchange corners, and A gets to B's corner, l)ut B fails to reach A's before the player who stands out gets there, it is B and not A who becomes Puss. WARNING. This may be played by any number, from ten to a hundred. One begins the game by standing within a line, running parallel for a considerable length with, and about three feet from a wall, and repeating the following words, — "Warning once, warning twice, warning three times over; a bushel of wheat, a bushel of rye, when the cock crows, out jump I ! — 24 7.IIN0R GAMES. Cock-a-doodle-doo I — Warning !" He then runs out, and touches the first he can overtake, who must return to bounds with him. These two then (first crying " Warning" only) join hands, and each of tliem endeavours to touch another ; he also returns to bounds, and at the next sally joins hand^ with the other two. Every player who is afterward touched by either of the outside ones, does the like, until the whole be thus touched and taken. It is not lawful to touch an out-player after the line is broken, either accident- ally, or by the out-players attacking it, which they are permitted to do. Immediately a player is touched, the line separates, and the out-players endeavour to catch those belonging to it, who are compelled to carry those who capture them, on their backs, to bounds. When three are touched, he who begins the game is entitled to join the out-players. FOLLOW MY LEADER, Without a bold and active leader this sport is dull and monotonous ; with one possessing the necessary qualifications it is quite the contrary. Any number may play at it. A leader is fixed on, and the other players range tliemselves in a line behind him. He commences the sport, by some feat of agility, such as leaping", hopping, or climbing, and his followers then attempt to perform it in succession. He then goes to another trial of skill ; the others, or so many of them as are able to do so, fbllow his example, and thus the sport proceeds until the parties think fit to cease. The most nim- ble and active should, of course, be chosen for a leader ; he should perform feats of such difficulty as to render the sport interesting, at the same time avoiding such as he knows can only be undertaken by himself, or by one or two of his followers. If one boy can perform a feat, which those wlio are placed before him in rank fail in attempting, he takes precedence of them until he is, in like manner excelled by any of those who are behind him. This is a sport of speed. Six or eight is the best number to play at it. One volunteers to be the player, who is called Touch; it is the object of tlie other players to run from and avoid him. He pursues them all ; or, if he think fit, singles out an individual, and follows until he comes up with and touches him. The player so overtaken becomes Touch, and then endeavours to get near enough to lay his hand upon one of the rest. This is an active and amusing game for boys in cold weather. It is sometimes called Touch-iron or Touch wood ; in these cases, the players are safe only while they touch iron or wood, as may be previously agreed. They are liable to be touched only when running firom one piece of wood oi iron to another. MINOR SPORTS. 25 SPORTS WITH TOYS. The Sports with Toys are very numerous ; those which are most usual in the play-ground are with the kite, the hoop, the sucker, tlie pea-shooter, and two or three otiiers ; of each of which we offer bur readers a description* THE POP-GUN. The Pop-gun is made of a piece of wood, from which the pith has been taken; a rammer must be made, with a handle of a proper length, which should have a shoulder to prevent the slender or ram-rod point going the Entire length of the gun ; the pellets are made of moistened tow, or brown paper. Put one into one end of the gun, push it with the rod to tiie other, and then placing a second pellet at the end where the first was inserted, push lliat toward the opposite end, and it will drive the first pellet out with great force. Pop-guns are also made with quills, the pellets for which are cut by the quills out of slices of raw potato. THE SLING. Cut out an oval piece of leather, about two inches wide at the broadest part ; at each of the ends, fasten a leathern thong, or piece of cord, — one of tliese cords, or thongs, should be longer than the other ; place a stone in the broadest part of the leather, twist the longest thong twice or thrice round your hand, hold the other lightly between your tliumb and fore-finger, whirl it round several times, let go the shorter thong, and the stone will be shot to 3 great distance. Small lumps of clay kneaded to the point of a pliant switch, may be jerked to a height scarcely credible. 26 MINOR SPORTS. THE PEA-SHOOTER. By means of a tube of tin or copper, a pea may be propelled from the moutli, by the mere force of the breath, to a very considerable distance* The natives of Macouslie, with a cane tube, about twelve feet long, propel arrows with their breath, with such force and dexterity, as to bring down different sorts of feathered game. THE KITE. To construct the Kite, yd*« must, in the first place, procure a straight lath of deal for the upriglit or straighter, and a thin hoop, or a pliant piece of hazel for the bow or bender. Fasten the bender (i by its centre, witJi string, to the upright, within a little distance of its top ; then notch the two ends of the bow, and fasten them to the upright by a string, which is made fast at each of the ends, and turned once round the upright, as a, 6, c ; the string must then be carried up to the junction of the bow and straighter, and made fast at c?, and thence to a ; from a, it must pass through a notch at c, up to c / then down to /, where it must be tied in a notch cut for that purpose, and up to a again. Your skeleton being now complete, your next task is to paste a sufficient quantity of paper together to cover it, and afford' a hem to be pasted over the outer edgesb Next, bore two holes in the straighter, one about a fifth of the whole length from the top, and the other rather less from the bottom ; run through these^ and fasten, by a knot at tlie two ends, your belly-band string, to which tlie ball of string, by which the kite is flown, is afterward fixed. The wings arfe made of several sheets of writing paper, half cut in slips, rolled up, and fas* tened at a and c. The tail, which should be from ten to fifteen times the length of the kite, is made by tying bobs of writing paper, four times folded^ about an inch and a half broad, and three inches long, at intervals of three inches and a quarter, on a string, with a large bob, similar to the wings, at the bottom of it. Your kite is now complete, and fit to be flown in tlie usual manner. It is well known that the celebrated Doctor Franklin once let up a kiflfe previous to his entering the water to bathe, and then, lying on his back. Buffered himself to be drawn across a stream by its power. The master of a respectable academy at Bristol, among whose pupils we have enjoyed many pleasant hours in the pastime of flying kites, has lately succeeded in travelling along the public roads, ( we believe, from Bristol to London,) with MINOR SPORTS. 27 amazing speed, in a carriage drawn by kites, in the most safe and accurate manner possible, notwithstanding the variations of the wind and the crook* 6dness of the roads. THE THAUMATROPE. This very amusing toy is made and exliibited in the following manners Cut out a circular piece of card, to which fasten six bits of string, as in tbe cut. Draw on one side of it a y-^ "^^ y' ~""\ figure with balls, and on the other, , -.v/ ^ x^ ® \ „^ / \ ^^^ balls only, as represented in -sv Xl ^JS,^ aL^ I* \ ^^^ margin; then taking one of 1 ^ 2Sfi|^^^ •t'V I • •) the strings between the forefinger and thumb of each hand, close to the card, twist or twirl it rapidly round, and according to which pair of strings you use, the figure will seem to be tossing two, three, of four balls in different directions. Various cards and devices may be used< for instance, you may draw a bird on one side, and a cage on the others by only using the centre pieces of string, the bird will seem to be in thfe cage or aviary; a horse on one side, and a jockey on the other, as in the cut, (taking care to revere the figures, or draw them upsidfc down to each other,) and by using the diiferent pairs of strings, yon may cause the rider to appear up^ on, leaping under, or by the sidfe of the horse, as you please. For Other designs, we suggest a tight rope and a dancer ; a body and a head ; a CSJidle and a flame ; a picture and its frame, &c. BATTLEDORE AND SHUTTLECOCK. Battledores and Shuttlecocks are to be obtained cheap at all the book* stores. The game is played by two persQ^s, who, with the battledores, strike the shuttlecock to and fro between them. Shuttlecock is a boyish sport of long standing. It appears to have been a fashionable game among grown persons in the reign of James the First, and is mentioned as such in an old comedy of that time. Among the anecdotes related of Prince Henry, son to James the First, is the following : " His Highness playing at shuttlecock with one far taller than himself, and hitting him, by chance, with the shuttlecock upon the forehead, * This is,' quoth he, * the encounter of David with Goliah.' " 28 MINOR SPORTS. THE SUCKER. Cut a circular piece out of stout leather ; bore a hole through its centre, and pass a string, with a knot to prevent the end escaping, through this hole. Soak the leather well in water before you use it ; when thoroughly eoaked, place the leather on a stone, press it well down witli your foot, and then taking the string, you may, by your sucker, raise a considerable weight. THE HOOP. Every body knows how to trundle the Hoop in the usual way ; several pairs of tin squares are sometimes nailed to the inner part of the hoop, which produce, in the opinion of some lads, an agreeable jingle. In some parts of England, boys drive their hoops one against the other, and the player whose hoop falls in these encounters, is conquered. THE W^ATCH-SPRING GUN. Neatly cut a bit of wood, about four inches long, into the form of the stock of a pistol or gun ; scoop a groove in tlie upper part of it ; in this groove place a large quill, open at both ends, fasten it on with waxed thread, and let it project beyond the point of the stock and reach as far as the middle of it ; next, procure an old watch-spring, which may be bought cheap at a watch-maker's, cut off a piece of it about as long as the quill, bend it back- ward, and tie one end of it firmly to the upper part or but-end of the stock. Then bore a small hole through the middle of the stock about an inch from the mouth of the quill ; cut a pin in two, fasten one half of it, by its head, to a bit of thread, the other end of which fasten to the thread that binds on the spring ; this is the trigger, and your gun is complete. To use it, place a little arrow, or a shot, in the groove between the mouth of the quill and the hole in the stock ; put the pin through this hole, and bend back the spring so that the pin may catch it ; take the toy in your right hand, pull the trigger out with the fore-finger, and the spring being thus re- leased, will drive the shot, or arrow, through tlie quill to a considerable dis- tJince. If you use arrows, you may shoot at a little butt or target. CAT AND MOUSE. This is a French sport. The toy with which it is played consists of two flat bits of hard avooJ, the edges of one of which are notched. The game is played by two only; they are both blindfolded, and tied to the ends of a long string, which is fastened in the centre to a post, by a loose knot, so as to play easily in the evolutions made by the players. The party who plays the mouse occasionally scrapes the toys together, and the other, who plays the cat, atti'acted by the sound, endeavours to catch him. MINOR SPORTS. 29 MISCELLANEOUS SPORTS, Under this head we intend to describe a variety of amusing sports and recreations, which could not, in strictness, be inserted among any of the preceding classes. blind-ma;n's buff. This popular, old-fashioned, and delightful pastime, is so well known, as to render any description of it unnecessary. There is, however, a variation of it called Shadow Buff, which is less known, but equally amusing, A large piece of white linen is suspended smoothly at one end of a room ; at a little distance from it, Buffy, with his face toward the linen, is seated on a low stool. Directly in a line, and about a yard behind him, a table is placed with a candle on it ; all the other lights must be extinguished. The players then walk one by one, between the table and Buffy, (who must not turn hia head,) limping, hopping, and grimacing as they please, so as to distort theif shadow? on the linen. If Buffy can tell correctly to whom any shadow belongs, (guessing once only for each person,) the player, whom he so dia* covers, takes his olace. BASTE THE BEAR. Lots are drawn for the first bear, who takes his seat on a stone, with oiw end of a rope, about three yards long, in his hand, the other end of which if held by the bear's master. The other players attack the bear with twisted handkerchiefs, and the master endeavours to touch one of them : if he can 30 MINOR SPORTS. do so without letting the rope go, or pulling the bear from his seat, the play- er so touched takes the place of the bear. Each bear has the privilege of choosing his own master ; being bear once, or even oftener, does not exon!&- rate a player, if fairly touchedj from becoming so again. DICK, DUCK, AND DRAKE. From this game comes the proverb which is frequently applied to a spend»^ thrift. " He is making ducks and drakes of his money." It is played by skimming, or what boys call shying, bits of slate or flat stones along the sui'- face of a river or pond. If the thing thrown touches the water and rebounds once, it is a dick ; if twice, a duck ; if thrice, a drake. He who makes his elate or pebble rebound the greatest number of times, wins the game. Sliding is one of the diversions ascribed to young men of London by Fitzstephen, and, as far as one can judge from his description of the sport, it differed not in the performance from the method used by the boys of our own time. He mentions another kind of pastime upon the ice, which is even now practised by boys in several parts of England j his words are to this effect : ** Others make a seat of ice, as large as a mill-stone, and having placed one of their companions upon it, they draw him along, when it some* times happens, that moving on slippery places, they all fall down headlong." Sledges are, now-a-days, also used, which being extended from a centre by means of a strong rope, those who are seated in them are moved round with great velocity, and form an extensive circle. Sledges of this kind were set upon the Thames in the time of a hard frost at the commencement of the last century, as the following couplet, taken from a song written upon that occasion, plainly proves. " While the rabble in sledges run giddily round. And nought but a circle of folly is found." Skating is by no means a modern pastime, and probably the inventfon proceeded rather from necessity than the desire of amusement. It is a boast of a northern chieftain, that he could traverse the snow upon skates of wood. Strutt states that he cannot by any means ascertain at what time ekating made its first appearance in England, but that som.e traces of such aij exercise are found in the thirteenth century ; at which period, according to Fitzstephen, it was customary in the winter, when the ice would bear them, for the young citizens of London to fasten the leg bones of animals under the fioles of their feet, by tying them round their ankles, and then taking a pole shod with iron into their hands, they pushed tliemselves forward by striking MINOR SPORTS. Si It against the ice, and moved with celerity, equal, says the autlior, to a bird flying through the air, or an arrow from a cross-bow ; but some allowance^ we presume, must be made for the poetical figure : he then adds, " at times^^ two of them thus fui nished agree to set opposite one to another at a great dis- tance ; they meet, elevate their poles, attack and strike each other, whea one or both of them fall, and not without some bodily hurt, and even aftey their fall are carried a great distance from each other by the rapidity of the motion, and whatever part of the head comes upon the ice it is sure to be laid bare." The wooden skates shod with iron or steel, which are bound about the feet and ankles like the talares of tlie Greeks and Romans, were, most pro- bably, brought into England from the low countries, where they are said to have originated, and where, it is well known, they are almost universally used by persons of both sexes when the season permits. Some modern writers have asserted that " the metropolis of Scotland has produced more instances of elegant skaters than perhaps any other county whatever; and die institution of a skating club has contributed not a little to the improve- ment of this amusement." Strutt, in noticing this, observes that when the Serpentine river in Hyde Park was frozen over, he saw four gentlemer^ there dance, if the expression may be allowed, a double minuet, in skates with as much ease and perhaps more elegance, than in a ball-room ; others again, by turning and winding Avith much adroitness, have readily in suc- cession described upon the ice the form of all the letters in the alphabet, SV\^1NGING. The construction of the swing is simple : two ropes of equal lengths, are to be suspended from any branch or cross piece of timber, of adequatB Strength ; at the bottom of these ropes a seat is to be securely fastened, and the party who takes the seat must be propelled by another on the ground ; a tope for this purpose must be fastened to the back part of the seat. FRENCH AND ENGLISH. This game is played by two parties, whose numbers are equal ; they all take hold of a rope, and the object of each party is to pull tliose belonging to the other across a chalk line on the ground, by means of the rope. When all the players on one side are thus pulled over or made prisoners, the other party wins the game. This is a very lively sport, any number may join in It, and it affords capital exercise and much amusement. TIP-CAT. Tip-cat, or, perhaps, more properly, the game of cat, is a rustic pastime well known in many parts of the kingdom. Its denomination is derived from a piece of wood, called a cat, with which it is played ; the cat is about six inches in length, and an inch and a half or two inches in diameter, and 32 MI^'OR SPORTS diminished from the middle to both the ends, in the shape of a double cone| by this curious contrivance, the places of the trap and ball are at once sup- plied, for when the cat is laid upon the ground, the player, with his cudgel^ jtrikes it smartly, it matters not at which end, and it will rise with a rotatory motion, high enough for hina to beat it away as it falls, in the same man- aier as he Avould a ball. There are various methods of playing the game of cat, but we shall only notice the two that follow. The hrst is exceedingly simple, and consists ia making a large ring upon tlip ground, in the middle of which the striker takes his station ; his business is to beat the cat over the ring. If he fail in ^o doing he is out, and another player takes his place : if he be successful, he judges with his eye the distance the cat is driven from the centre of the ring, and calls for a number, at pleasure, to be scored toward his game ; if tile number demanded be found, upon measurement, to exceed the same number of lengths of the cudgel, he is out ; on the contrary, if he do not, he obtains his call. The second method is to make four, six, or eight holes in the ground, in a circular direction, and as nearly as possible, at equal dis» tances from each other, and at every hole is placed a player with his cudgel 5 one of the opposite party, who stand in the field, tosses the cat to the batsman who is nearest him, and every time the cat is struck, the players are obliged to change their situations, and run once from one hole to another in succes- sion ; if the cat be driven to any great distance, they continue to run in the same order, and claim a score toward their game, every time they quit one hole and run to another ; but if the cat be stopped by their opponents, and thrown across between any tvyo of the holes before the player who has quitted one of them can reach the other, he is out, HOP-SCOTCH. In some parts of England this game is called Pottle. It is played with an oyster-shell, in tlie following manner ; — Draw, witli chalk, on the ground, a figure similar to the cut in the margin. Toss up for innings. He who wins stands at the * and throws the shell into No. 1, which is called the first bed; he then steps with his right foot into that bed, and " scuffles," that is, jerks, with his right foot, the shell out toward the *. He now tln*ows the shell into No. 2; steps, with his left foot into No. 1, and then, placing his right foot in No. 2, scuffles the shell out as before, and steps with one foot back to No. 1, and thence out. He must now throw the shell into No. 3, and step into 1, 2, and 3, scuffle the shell out, and step back through the beds alternately. He must then go to 4, 5, and 6, in succession, and, at each throw, step into every previous bed, with one foot only, and tlie like when MINOR SPORTS. 33 coming back, reversing the numbers. After this, the player puts the shell into No. 1, hops into that bed, scuffles the shell into 2, and so on to 6, and back again in the same manner, bed by bed, to the *. Lastly, he places the shell into No. 1, puts his right foot in the bed, and scuffles the shell through all the beds, beyond the further line of 6, at one jerk. If the player who gets the innings do all this correctly, he wins the game. If, however, he put himself out, as hereafter described, the second player takes the innings ; if the latter put himself out, ^vithout going through the game, the first takes up his own game, where it was when he went out ; the second also does the like with his, if the first gets out a second time. When there are more than one innings, the fii'st who goes through the game, as above stated, wins. A player loses his innings in either of the following cases : — If he throw the shell into the wrong bed, or on the line, or put two feet into one bed, or a foot upon the lines, or do not scuffle the shell out of the bed in which it lies at the first attempt, or put his hands to the ground, or throw or scuffle the shell beyond line c, (except in the last, or what is called " the long scuffle,") or outside the lines ah ; or if, in going forward, he put his leg into 3 before 2, or the contrary when coming back ; or if, when scuffling the shell through on the hop, he di'ive it beyond the next bed in which it lies ; or if, in any part of the game, when he has stepped into a bed, he take more than one hop in order to get near the shell ; or if he hop after he has scuffled it; or, lastly, if, in the long scuffle, he do not, at one eftort, send it with his foot from beyond the line of c. But observe, that w^hen he has cast the shell into No. 2, or any bed beyond it, he is not compelled to scuffle it out, that is, beyond the line d, at one effort. KING OF THE CAftil^ft This is a very unexceptionable and simple, but nevertfieless, lively sport. One player places himself on the top of a little mound or hillock ', he is the King of the Castle, and he endeavours to retain possession of his post, as long as possible, against the attacks of his playmates, who endeavour, one at a time, to push him off. If he be driven off the mound or hillock, the player who dethi"ones him takes his place. A plank is placed across a felled tree, a low wall, or anything similar, and a player seats himself at each end ', by a slight exertion, if the plank be properly balanced, each end rises and sinks alternately. It must be observ- ed, that if the players be of unequal weight, he who is the heavier must, to preserve the due equilibrium, make his end of tile plank shorter. 34 MINOR SPORTS. This game is played as follows : — All the players but one, collect at a place called " home," while one goes off to hide himself. When ready, he shouts " Whoop oh !" the others then sally out to find him ; he who discovers the hidden player, calls out " Whoop oh !" tlie hidden player then breaks from his concealment, and if he can catch one of the others, the one so caught must carry him onhisback to " home." It is tlienthe boy's turn who has made the discovery to go and hide himself, and the others endeavour to dis- cover his lurking place, as before. HIDE AND SEEK. This is very like the preceding game ; a handkerchief, or some other trifle, is concealed by one player, and the rest attempt to find it ; the discoverer takes the next turn to hide the article. It is a custom, in this game, for the boy who has hid the article to encourage those who approach it, by telling them that they burn, and to warn them of their departure from it by saying tliey freeze. HIPPAS. The Greeks had a pastime called hippas, which, we are told, was one person riding upon the shoulders of another, as upon ahorse : a sport of this kind was in practice with us at the commencement of the fourteenth century, and is still occasionally seen in some parts of the country ; it is performed by two competitors, who struggle one with the other, and he who pulls his opjmnent from the shoulders of his carrier is the victor. A soft piece of turf is usually chosen for this sport. THREAD THE NEEDLE. Thread the needle may be played by a considerable number of boys, who all join hands, and the game commences with the following dialogue be- tween the two outside players at each end of the line : " How many miles to Babylon V " Threescore and ten." " Can I get thereby candlelight 1" •* Yes, and back again." " Then open the gates without more ado, and let MINOR SPORTS. 35 the king and his men pass through. " In obedience to this mandate, the play- er who stands at the opposite end of the line and the one next him, lift their joined hands as high as possible; the other outside player then approaches, runs under the hands thus elevated, and the whole line follows him, if possi- ble, without disuniting. This is threading the needle. The same dialogue is repealed, the respondent now becoming the inquirer, and running be- tween the two players at the other end, with the whole line after him. The fii'st then has his turn again. DUCK. Duck should be played by a number exceeding three, but not more than six or eight. A large stone witli a smooth top is placed on or fixed into the ground, and an offing marked at eight or ten yards distance. Each of the players being previously provided with a large pebble, or stone, double the size of a cricket ball, or thereabout, one of them, by chance or choice, be- comes duck ; that is, he places the pebble or stone with which he is going to play, on the large stone, and stands a little on one side. The others then cast their pebbles or ducks at it, in turn, from the offing, each endeavouring to knock it off its place. Each player, as soon as he has cast his duck, watches for an opportunity of carrying it back to the offing, so as to cast again. If the player who is duck, can touch him after he has taken up his pebble, and before he reaches the offing, provided his own pebble remain on the large stone, then the player so touched becomes duck. It sometimes happens that three or four of the out-players' ducks lie so close together, that tlie player who is duck can stand in a situation to be within reach of all of them ; in this case, they cannot, without running the risk of being touched, pick up, until one of those who are at the offing is lucky enough to strike the duck off the large stone; then, before its owner can replace it, which he must do before he can touch a player, they all take up their ducks and run to the offing, where, of course, they are safe. HUNT THE SLIPPER. This is usually an in-door game, although there is no other objection to its being played on a dry piece of turf than that the slipper cannot be heard when struck by its momentary possessor, when passing round the joyous ring. Several young persons sit on the ground in a circle, a slipper is given to them, and one, who generally volunteers to accept the office in order to begin the game, stands in the centre, and whose business it is to " chase the slipper by its sound." The parties who are seated, pass it round so as to prevent, if possible, its being found in the possession of any individual. In order that the player in the centre may know where the slipper is, it is occa- sionally tapped on the ground, and then suddenly handed on to die right or left. When the slipper is found in the possession of any one in the circle, by the player who is hunting it, the party on whom it is so found, takes the latter player's place. c 2 36 MINOR SPORTS. PALL MALL. Pall-mall is a game wherein a round piece of box is struck, witR'a mallet, through a high arch of iron, whicli he that can do at the fewest blows, or at tlie number agreed upon, wins. It is to be observed, that there are two of these arches, that is, one at either end of the alley. The game of Mall was a fashionable amusement in the reign of Cliarles II., and the walk in St. James's Park, now called the Mall, received its name from having been ap- propriated to the purpose of playing at Mall, where Charles himself, and his courtiers, frequently exercised themselves in the practice of this pastime. The denomination of " Mall," given to this game, is evidently derived from the mallet or wooden hammer used by the players to strike the ball. It will be perceived that this game is rather similar to Goff ; we have been told that it still exists in some parts of England ; but we must confess that it never fell under our personal observation. HOP, STEP, AND JUMP. This is a sport of emulation ; the object is to ascertain which of the play- ers concerned can, eventually, go over the greatest portion of ground in a hop, a step, and a jump, performed in succession, and which may be taken either standing or with a run, as may be agreed, at the outset, between the players. DRAWING THE OVEN. Several players seat themselves on the ground, in a line, and in such a manner that each may be clasped round the body by the player who is seat- ed behind him. When all are thus united, two others take the one who is at the extremity of the line by the two hands and pull until they separate him from the grasp of the one who is behind him. They then take the second in the same manner, and so on until they have thus drawn the whole line. THE LAME LAMPLIGHTERS. Two boys kneel, each on one knee only, holding the other leg off the ground, one opposite the other ; a lighted candle is given to one, and another candle, not lighted, to the other ; they then attempt to illumine the latter ; but, being in equilibrium on one knee, and liable to be thrown off their balance by the least motion, they will find this so difficult a matter as to cause great diversion to the spectators. THE JUMPING ROPE. A long rope is swang round by a player at each end of it ; when it moves tolerably regular, one, two, or even more boys, step in between those who hold the rope, suffering it to pass over their heads as it rises, and leaping up so that it goes under their feet when it touches the ground, precisely as in the case of a common skipping-rope. The principal difficulty in this sport is, to run between the players at the proper moment of time, that is, just aa MINOR SPORTS. 37 the rope is at highest elevation, so as to be ready to jump over when, in its circuitjit comes toward the feet. Care must be taken that due time be kept in the leaps, so that they may perfectly accord with the motion of the rope. There is another mode of playing with the long skipping-rope, namely, by the player at one end of it, advancing a step or two toward the other, keeping the hand which holds the rope on the outside, and then, with the assistance of the player at the other end, turning the rope round, and skipping over it in its circuit. THE WOODEN BOTTLE. This is a sport similar to *' The Lame Lamplighters," frequently played by the parlour fire-side, in holyday time : — an individual seats himself on a wooden bottle which is placed sideways upon the floor, and endeavours,' with p, burning candle, which he holds in his right hand, to light another in his left- DROPPING THE 'KERCHIEF. A number of players join hands so as to make a circle ; one only stands out ; he walks round the outside of the circle, and drops a handkerchief be- hind which player in the circle he thinks fit. The party behind whom the handkerchief is thus dropped immediately follows the one who dropped it : those who stood on each side complete tlie circle by joining hands, and the chace commences. The pursuer is bound to follow precisely the course of the pursued, who winds in and out under the arms of the other players, wiio elevate them for his accommodation, and endeavours, by all the means in his power, to puzzle and elude him. If he succeed in so doing, that is, if the pursuer make a blunder in his course, he returns to his place in the circle, and the first player prepares to drop the handkerchief behind one of the play- ers again. When he is fairly overtaken by the player behind whom he has last dropped the handkerchief, the latter takes his place, and he joins handa in the circle. BUCK. This is a miniature resemblance of " Saddle my Nag;" but it neither requires speed, nor even agility. It is a spoit for two boys only, who should be nearly equal in size and strength. A third, who does not join in the game, stands by as an umpire. The game commences by one of the players giving a back ; that is, placing his arms across his breast, or resting them on his knees, stooping forward so as to bring his back nearly horizontal with his head, which he supports against a post, wall, tree or whatever may be convenient for the purpose. It is usual, but we think quite unnecessary, for tlie player Avho gives the back to be blindfolded ; we say unnecessary, be- cause the only object for doing this is to prevent him seeing what is going on behind, or, rather, above his back, which he cannot possibly do, if he keep bis head in a fair and proper position; and the umpire HlicHild see that lie^ 38 ^«- MINOR SPORTS. does so. Tlie first player having thus taken his position, the second leaps, or vaults, astride on his back, hokis up as many ojf the fingers of one hand aa he pleases, and says, " Buck, buck, how many horns do I hold up V The player who gives the back makes a guess ; if lie name the right number the other player becomes Buck, and gives him a back. If, however, his guess be an incorrect one, the rider gets off, vaults on again, holds up the same or a different number of fingers, and asks the same question as before ; this is repeated until the Buck name the true number. It is the business of the umpire to see that there is no foul play on the part of the rider. We should suggest that it would be an improvement on this quiet, simple game, for the umpire to be made a third player ; so that when the Buck's guess is cor- rect, the rider should give a back, the umpire become rider, and the Buck umpire : thus, instead of the place of umpire being a mere idle vocation, the game would be productive of amusement and exeicise to all three of the boys engaged in it. THE SNOW STATUE. In those days, when winter clothes the surface of the earth with a mantle of snow, and many of the amusements of the play-ground are thereby sus- pended, it is a custom with boys, as some of our young readers, doubtless, very AvelJ know, to make that which is an impediment to their old recrea- tions, a material for new ones. Then do snow-bails, harmless if lightly com- pressed, but otherwise if strongly kneaded, fly about in abundance. Caves, and even pigmy fortresses, are constructed ; the roiling ball, which is first roundel by the little hands of a child, becomes, in a few hours, by driving it over the snow, too big for a man to move. When the joyous tenants of the play-ground have become fatigued with rolling the ball, or it has acquired a size and weight superior to their nnited powers, it is a common practice with tliem to cut a rude resemblance of a man out of the mass, adding to its height and diminishing its breadth. This is called the Snow Statue; and when complete, the young sculptors retire to a convenient distance, and, with the aid of snow-balls, each tries his utmost to demolish that which they have just taken such pains to construct. We are well aware that there are other Minor Sports and Pastimes prac- tised in play -grounds in different parts of the country, besides those we have described; ii vvould be impossible for us " to press the endless throng" with- in our limits. We give a selection of the best, and of those which most re- quired explanation. We are also aware, that the rules of some of the Sports vary in different places ; — where this is the case, we have given those which are most generally adopted. Many games and amusements which might ha\'e been inseited in this part of the work, wdll be found placed with great- er propriety, under other heads. THE DEAF AND DUMB ALPHABET. Though poor and old, she had a golden joy ; Her dim eye hrightened oft, to see her boy, — Albeit by Heaven deprived of speech and hearing, — Throw by his homely toy, And tell his love, in manner so endearing, Upon his nimble fingers, that she thought Him more endowed than those bereft of nought. The art of teaching those who are Deaf and Dumb a mode of compre- hending whatever it may be desirous to convey to their minds, and of ex- pressing their own wants and ideas to their more happy fellow creatures, is one of the greatest triumphs that humanity can boast. To such perfection may this art be carried, that those beings, to whose benefit the exertions of professors are directed, may be raised nearly to a par with the rest of the world. It has the great advantage of being remarkably simple ; so that a mother, a brother, sister, or school-fellow, by a little perseverance, may give the deaf and dumb youth the means of communicating his wishes on all oc- casions. He may be led progressively from the alphabet to the construction and signification of words, the composition of sentences, and, ultimately, to such a complete knowledge of language, as will enable him to study other branches of education Avith as much prom ise of success as if he had been born with all his senses in perfection. Our limits will not allow us to enter into any detail of the manner of conveying instruction to the Dumb, beyond the acquirement of the Alphabet, to which we add an engraving showing the position of the hands to express each letter. 40 THE DEAF AND DUMB ALPHABET. THE ALPHABET. A. JS, I, O, U. The vowels a, e, i, o, and u, are expressed by touching, with the fore-finger of the right hand, the thumb, or one of the fingers of the left, according to the letter required to be expressed. A is made by touching the top of the thumb ; e, by touching that of the fore-finger; i, by touching that of the middle finger; o, by touching that of the ring, or fourth finger ; and w, by touching that of the little finger. B. Join the fore-finger and thumb of each hand, and place the backs of the two fore-finger nails together. C. Curve the fingers and thumb toward each other, so as to resemble as much as possible the shape of the letter. D. Curve the fingers and thumb of the right hand, but not quite *so much as for C, and place the tops of the fore-finger and thumb against the side of the fore-finger of the left hand, which is to be kept straight. F*. Place the fore-finger of one hand across the back of the two first fingers of the other. G and /. Clench the hands, and place one fist upon the other, //. Draw the palm of one hand across the palm and finger's of the other, beginning near the ball of the thumb, and going along the hands to the tips of the fingers, precisely as if you were bruslung something off the palm of one hand with tlie other. K. Curve the fore-finger toward the thumb, and place the second joint of the fore-finger so curved, against the back of the second joint of the fore- finger of the other hand. L. Lay the fore-finger of the right hand straight upon the pahu of the left. 31. Lay the three first fingers of the right hand upon the palm of the left. iV. Lay the two first fingers of the right hand upon the palm of the left. P. Bend the thumb and fore-finger as for Z>, only make a lesser curve, and place the tops of the thumb and fore-finger to the two first joints of the foi"e-finger of the other hand. Q. Place the tops of the fore-finger and thumb together ; curve the fore- finger of the other hand, and place it on the inside of the fore-finger and tl:i::r-'^> Dreciselv where tlxev touch each otlier THE DEAF AND DUMB ALPHABET. 41 K N r\ O vr m^ 4Sl THE DEAF AND DUMB ALPHABET. R, Curve the fore-finger of the right hand, and place it on the palm of the left. S, Curve the little fingers of each hand, and hitch them together. T. Place the top of the fore-finger of the right hand against the lower edge of tlie left hand, between the little finger and the wrist. F. This letter is made nearly as iV", with this difference only, that for V, the two fore-fingers of the right hand are placed apart, upon the palm of the left, instead of close together, as is the case for iV". W, Join the hands, with the fingers of one between tliose of the other X. Cross the two fore-fingers at the second joint. Y. Place the fore-finger of the right hand between the thumb and fore- finger of the left, which must both be extended. Z. Raise one hand toward the face, and place the palm of the other under the elbow of the arm which is so elevated. It is usual to mark the conclusion of each word by snapping the middle finger and thumb of the right hand : this, it may readily be imagined, ren- ders the dumb language much more intelligible. Numbers are counted by the fingers in the most simple way; one finger held up, signifies 1 ; two fingers, 2 ; the open hand, 5 ; the two hands, 10, &c Thus it will be perceived, that although many persons are by Nature de- prived of speech, yet Art has so ameliorated their condition, as not to leave them altogether dumb. ARCHERY. ^^^^" To save his own and Albert's life, Tell is to shoot an apple from the head Of his own child ! William Tell In this island. Archery was greatly encouraged in former times, and many statutes were made for its regulation. The Artillery Company of London, though they have long disused the weapon, are the remains of the ancient fraternity of Bowmen or Archers. As to the time when shooting with the long bow first began amongst the English, there appears no certain account. Richard I, was killed by an arrow, in 1199 ; after this time, we read nothing of Archery, till that of Edward III. when an order was issued 44 ARCHERY. to the sheriffs of most of the English counties, to provide five hundred white bows, and five hundred bundles of arrows, for the then intended war against France. The famous battle of Cressy was fought four years afterward, in which, it is stated, that we had about two thousand archers, opposed to about the same number of French. In the fifth year of the reign of Edward IV. an act was passed, that every Englishman, and Irishman dwelling with Englishmen, should have an English bow of his own height, which is directed to be made of yew, "wych, hazel, ash or awburne, or any other reasonable tree, according to their power. The next chapter also directed, that butts should be made in every township, which the inhabitants were obliged to shoot at, every feast day, under the penalty of one half-penny when they should omit this exercise. During the reign of Henry VIII. several statutes were made for the promotion of Archery. An act of parliament, in Eliza- beth's reign, regulated the price of bows. Charles I. is said to have been an Archer ; and, in the eighth year of his reign, he issued a commission to prevent the fields near London being so enclosed as " to interrupt the neces- sary and profitable exercise of shooting." So lately as the year 1753, tar- gets were erected in the Finsbury fields, during the Easter and Whitsuntide holydays, when the best shooter was styled " Captain " for the ensuing year, and the second, " Lieutenant." Edward VI, in his journal, says, that one hundred Archers of his guard shot, before him, two arrows each, and after- ward, altogether ; and that they shot at an inch board, which some pierced quite through with the heads of their arrows, the board being well seasoned timber. The distance of the mark is not mentioned. As a pastime there is none, perhaps, superior to this ; it is now, and for years past has been, higlily popular in this country ; in fact, judging from the past and the present, we may venture to predict that The Archer's sport will never be extinct, Until the memory of Robin Hood, Of Cressy 's well-fought field, and Chevy-Chase, Be blotted from the tablet of our minds. THE BOW. The young archer should, in the first place, select a bow, that is fit and proper for his own size and strength. It is not probable that, tet him be ever so skilful, he will be able to achieve such an exploit, as the construc- tion of a good bow himself; bow-making being a trade which requires many years' practice and much attention; in fact, there are few persons, now-a- days, although there are many bowyers, who can manufacture bows of a superior description. The back of the bow is the fiat outside, and the belly the round inside part of it. The round inside part is bent inward ; if the bow be pulled the reverse way, it will break ; therefore, however a bow may be bent when unstrung, it is invariably to be strimg with the round part inward ARCHERY. 45 Arrows should be delicately proportioned in length and weight to the bow for which they are intended. They are used blunt or sharp, and varying in their thickness according to the fancy of the Archer. Some are made so as to taper gradually from the feathers to the pile, and some viceversa ; others again are thickest in the centre. All arrows should have their nocks or notches cased with horn, and the nocks should be of such a size as to fit the string with exactness, and be neither too tight nor too loose. Three goostt or turkey feathers are affixed to arrows ; one of these, denominated Sie cock feather, is of a different color from the other two, and this is al- ways to be placed uppermost. THE STRING. That part of the string which receives the nock of the arrow is whipped with sewing silk, to prevent the string being rubbed and weakened. If the silk should come oft' the string, it ought to be re-whipped without delay ; otherwise, it will be in danger of breaking ; and this is not the only mis- chief, for from the breaking of a string oftentimes ensues the snapping of the bow. It is also advisable to whip the noose and eye of the string, although many archers do not trouble themselves to do so. At one end of the bow- string an eye is made ; it is left for the archer himself, bows being of differ- ent lengths, to make the other : this, to a young archer, will be ft)und ratlier difficult ; his best plan will be to inspect the mode of making the ftoose on an old string. The young archer will do well, if any of the threads of his string break, to throw it by and use another. He should never, if possible, permit the string to become twisted or ravelled ; should such an occurrence take place, before it is put on again it ought to be re-twisted and waxed. A bow, five feet long when braced, should never have the string more ^han five inches from its centre. This rule will be a guide to the young archer m stringing his bow ; whatever be its length he will of course adjust the distance in the same proportion, according to the admeasurement. THE TASSEL. This is very necessary to the archer for the purpose of cleaning the arrow from such dirt as generally adheres to it if it enter the ground. This dirt, if suffered to remain, will impede^ the arrow in its flight, and also render its course untrue. The tassel is suspended on the left side of the archer, and S§ thus always at hand for use. THE GLOVE. The glove consists of places for three fingers, a back thong and a wrist strap to feisten it. The finger-stalls should neither project far over the 46 ARCHERY. tops, nor be drawn back to cover the first joint. The glove is used for the purpose of protecting the fingers from being hurt by the string. THE BRACE. The brace is w^orn on the bow arm to save it from being injured by the string, which, witiiout this protection, would, in all probability, incapaci- tate the archer from shooting long at a time. It is made of stout leather, with a very smooth surface, so that the string may glide over it without Impediment. THE' QUIVER. The quiver is for the rec^eption of the arrows, but is never constantly worn except in roving; it is now usually made of tin, although it is occa- eionally constructed, as was indeed universally the case formerly, of wood or leather. THE BELT, POUCH, AND GREASE-BOX. The belt is buckled round the waist ; tlie grease-box is suspended from the middle, and the pouch or bucket on tlie right side of it, A composition for greasing the finger of the shooting-glove, and the smooth side of the brace, Avhen occasion may requii-e, is kept in the box : tlie pouch holds tlie arrows for immediate use in target shooting. THE ASCHAM. This is a large case fitted up with the necessary drawers and compart- ments for the reception of the bow, stock of arrows, strings, and all the necessary accoutrements of the archer. BUTTS. The butt is rather pyramidical in shape, geiierally speaking, but it may be fashioned according to the fancy of the archer ; for grown up persons, they are seven or eight feet wide, three or four feet thick at the base, and nearly seven feet in height at the middle. Butts are made of long plats of turf which are to be closely pressed down ; a round piece of pasteboard is placed in the centre of the butt for a nrar k, which must be increased oi- decreased in size according to the distance at which the archer shoots : for thirty yards, it should be four inclies in diameter; for sixty yards, six inches; and so in proportion for a greater distance. The mark is fixed to the butt by a peg driven through its centre. Shots that take place outside the mark are not reckoned, and he who places most shots in the pasteboard during the play is accounted the winner. Butts a»e fieciuently placed at difFerent distances from each other ; a set of butts is four, which are so contrived as not to pre- vent the players seeing them all at un(;e. What is called a single end is shooting at one mark only ; a double end is shooting to a mark, and back again from that uuuk t>i the one first shot from. ARCHERY. 47 TARGETS. Targets should be proportioned to the size and skill of the juvenile archer, and to the distance at which he stands from tliem. The facing is usually made of canvass which is sewn on the bass; the bass is made of stravr, worked as a bee-hive. The facing has a gold centre and four circles ; namely, the outer white edged with green, tlie black inner, white and red. Where it is not convenient to keep the targets fixed, it is better to use another kind, made of pasteboard, these being more portable, although by no means so diurable, as targets made of the other materials we have mentioned. If one target only be shot at, a great deal of time is Avasted in going to fetch the arrows, and again returning to the spot for shooting from : two targets are, therefore, generally used, and the archers shoot from one to the other. In Archery matches, there are generally two prizes ; one for the greatest number of arrows shot into the target, — the other for the shot nearest the gold centre. Hits in the target are sometimes reckoned all alike ; but there is usually a distinction made. The gold centre is the mark, and the circle which approaches nearest to it, being less in size, and consequently, more difficult to hit, and nearer the main mark itself, an arrow shot in that circle is deemed of more value, in reckoning for the prize, than if it were to take place in any of those outside it, and so in proportion with the others. A celebrated society of Archery allows the following numbers for each cir- cle. For the gold, nine ; for the red, seven ; for the inner white, five ; for the black, three ; and for the outer white, one. A writer on this subject, however, seems to think, that the outer circles are overrated, and if nine be allowed for the centre, only three should be scored for the red ; two for the inner white ; and less, in proportion for the two outer circles. When the sport terminates, the value of the number of hits, and not the hits them-- selves, should be reckoned ; and he whose score is the largest, is, of course, the victor. As ink is by no means a convenient thing to carry into the field, and marks made with the black-lead pencil are liable to be rubbed out, it is advisable to have a pin suspended from a card, properly divided for each archer's score, and to prick down the hits with it. STRINGING THE BOW. The bow is to be taken in the right hand, by the handle, with the flat part toward the person who is about to string it ; his right arm should rest against his side ; the lower end of the bow, which has always the shortest bone, should be placed against the inside of the right foot, which should be turned a little inward to prevent the bow from slipping ; the left foot should at the same time be brought forward ; the centre of the left hand wrist must be placed on the uppei* limb of tlie bow below the eye of tlie string, the 48 ARCHERY. forefinger knuckle upon one edge of the bow, and the top of the tliumb on the otlier. The bow is now to be pulled up vigorously, and the upper limb of it pressed down by the right hand, and the wrist of the left which should at the same time slide upward until the eye of the bowstring is safely- placed in the nock. I'he middle, the ring and the little fingers, should all three be stretched out, as they are not wanted in tl)Is operation of stringing the bow ; moreover, if this be not done, they are liable to be caught be- tween the string and the bow, and thus become severely punished. The young archer should take care that the eye is well placed in the nock before he removes his left hand. He should not become impatient in the action of stringing the bow, but perform it systematically as directed ; if he do not succeed, let him lay it by for a few minutes, and when he is cool make a second attempt. To unstring the bow, the short horn is to be placed on the ground ; the palm of the left hand receiving the flat side of the upper limb ; the string should be upward ; the handle is then to be pressed with the right arm so as to slacken the string ; when the latter becomes loose enough, the eye is to be brought out of the nock, by the thumb of the left hand. POSITION. The face is to be turned toward the marli, but no part of the body, which, if tlie mark be north, should be turned toward the east ; the head should be rather inclined; the left hand, with the bow in it in a perpen- dicular position, is to be held out straight toward the mark ; the arrow is to be brought well toward the ear and not the eye, on the left side of the bow and under the string ; the fore- finger of the left hand passes over it ; by the other hand the nock is placed in the string at the proper place, with the cock feather uppermost ; when this is done, the forefinger of the left hand is removed and placed round the bow. While the left hand is raising the bow, the right should be drawing the string with two or three fingers only and not the thumb ; as soon as it reaches the head it should be let loose, for fear of ^~ ' ' "^ - — -- ^~- — " its breaking. Great care should be taken to ac- quire a proper position, as represented in the marginal cut, for bad attitudes in Archery appear extremely ridiculous. ARCHERY. 49 FLIGHT-SHOOTING. FHghl-shooting was at one time much more frequently pi'actised wilh tlie long bow than it is at present The object in iiight-shooting is simply to ascertain which of a party can shoot to tlie greatest distance; this must of course, be very detrimental to bows, which are more frequently snapped in iiight-shooting than at any other pastime with the long bow. No skill in aiming is requisite in flight-shooting ; it is, tlierefore, by no means improving to the young Archer, who wishes to excel as a marksman. The longest and lightest arrows that the bow will bear are used in flight-shooting ; the game is generally seven. CLOUT-SHOOTING. ■ Clout-shooting is mostly practised by those who cannot conveniently set up butts or targets near home. The clout, which is quite portable, is made of around piece of pasteboard, thirty-six inches in circumference, fastened to a Btick ; or it may be made of white cloth, so contrived as to roll up on a stick which is run through it. In clout -shooting, seven is the game, and all arrows tell that fall within three bows' lengtli of the clout. ROVING. This is a very pleasant pastime with the long bow ; and is, indeed, by some, preferred even to target-shooting. The parties are not restricted to any particular place, but rove about from field to field for miles around, if they think fit. The mark is any clear and conspicuous object, such as a ti-ee or a bush. The number of the game is, in general, as in flight and clout-shooting, seven ; but it may be increased or decreased, according to the inclination of the parties. If there be more than six persons in a roving party, they should divide themselves into companies ; and wlien the first company have shot to, and walked some distance from, the first mark, the second should shoot at it : and so on with those that follow. Arrows thai reach within five bows' length of the mark tell ; but those which reach nearest cut the others out. In measuring the distance, the Archer does so with his own bow, from a spot in the mark which is one foot from the ground ; and the first arrow is the one that is nearest, not to the mark, but to that point or spot of the mark. The Archer may measure to what part of his arrow he pleases. He who shoots nearest has the privilege of indicating the next mark. It is better to use blunt-headed arrows in Roving than sharp ones ; as it not unfrequently happens that the latter are driven so firmly into the mark as to make it a matter of difficulty to ex- tract them : should this occur, it is advisable to cut away the wood around the arrow, rather than endeavour to tug it out by violence. FiVery Rover shoidd carry at kast a doze« arrows with Jiim, m older to be prepared against accidents, li 50 ARCHERY. CONCLUDING REMARKS We strongly recommend the young Archer never to shoot with another person's bow ; he may, very probably, break it ; and in that case, a loss might ensue to the owner, which money could not remedy. When the grass is above the ankle, shoot only at a considerable elevation. After two or three arrows are shot, the Archer should cease awhile, otherwise his aim will get unsteady. If he shoot point-blank at a mark, the arrow, if it miss, will strike along, and so bury itself in the grass, as to defy the keenest eye, in many instances, for a very considerable time, to discover it. This in- convenience may be remedied by shooting at a proper elevation, for then the arrow will descend in such a manner as to leave the feathers visible ; they will also be saved, from that injury which frequently occurs to them, by the moisture of the grass, or ground, when shot point-blank. Arrows should not be used of different lengths, nor should the young Archer shoot alone ; for in solitary shooting, he falls into habits of negligence and indif- ference ; if he practice with others, he will strive to emulate his companions j and, instead of a careless, unskilful marksman, soon become an adept in the pleasant pastime of Archery. CRICKET. The youthful Yeomanry are in the field, — Their tents are pitched, and every heart beats high To join the friendly strife : — their stoutest forts Are slender wickets ; — all their entrenchments, A popping and a bowling-crease ; their weapons, Bats *, — their ammunition, a brace of balls, In leathern and tight-fitting jerkins clad. This truly English pastime, although long a favorite with the people of this country, never reached to a greater degree of popularity than it possesses at this time. It is a favorite with the peer and the peasant, — the Socior Societatis Artiura and the schooi-boy. Royalty has, heretofore, stood bat in hand at the popping-crease, surrounded by those youthful buds of nobility of which our nation has since been proud; and, strange though it may seem, yet it is no less strange than true, — young matrons have played matches of Cricket against maidens, without impeachment to their usual reputation, and having husbands, brothers, and sweethearts for tlieir spectators. In many counties, Cricket is the universal pastime of the peo- ple ; in others, it is rarely played, and in many, scarcely mentioned. The man of Devon, who deems all sports inferior to wrestling, and the inhabitant of Somerset, who doats upon the manly game of back-sword, seldom bestow a thought upon Cricket; it is, nevertheless, esteemed and enjoyed by tlie people of other counties, especially those about the metropolis, as a sport D 2 52 CRICKET paramount, and practised in so great a degree, as nearly to exclude all other manly field recreations of a similar nature. Cricket is usually played by eleven persons on each side, though a less number is sufficient. Two umpires are to be appointed in order to settle all disputes that may arise ; they are to take tlieir stations at each wicket, and should be well acquainted with tlie laws of the game. The umpire at the striker's wicket should be rather behind it, so as not to be in the way of the players ; and the umpire at the bowler's wicket, directly behind it, to see that the striker does not strike the ball with his leg. BATS, BALLS, WICKETS, &C. The bat should not be higher than twenty-one inches in the pod, and four inches and a quarter in the widest part ; this is the size for men ; boys must, of course, have bats in proportion to their size and strength. The ball, for the use of men, should weigh about five ounces ; for youth, however, it should be lighter. Full-sized wickets are three stumps, which are sufficiently long to leave twenty-four inches out of the ground, widi a bail, seven inches long, to fit tlie top. These, like the bat and ball, must be decreased in srze for the ^roung cricketer. They should be placed directly opposite to each other, at the distance of twenty-two yards for men, but varying according to the size of the player. The bowiing-crease should be in a line with the wicket, and have a retiu*n crease. The popping-crease should be tliree or foiu- feet from the wicket, and exactly parallel with it. THE BOWLER. Bowling is a very important part of the game, and requires great steadi- ness. Bad bowling is often the cause of losing a game. A bowler should not be too systematic, but vary his balls faster or slower, according to the peculiarities of the striker. The bowler and his partner at the opposite wicket should have a secret sign, by which they may hint to each other the propriety of varying the direction or swiftness of the balls. The mode of Ijowling most generally approved of, is to hold the ball with the seam across, so that the tips of the fingers may touch ; it should be held with just a sufficient grasp to keep it steady j by a turn of the wrist, it may be made to cut or twist after it is grounded, which will fre(iuently perplex expert players. THE STRIKER, OR BATSMAN. The striker siiould always be ready for running ; when his partner is about to strike, he should stand before the popping-crease, but he must be CRICKET. 53 cautious not to leave the ground before tlie ball is out of the bowler's hand; for if he do, tiie bowler may put down his wicket, and he will, of course, be out. As soon as the ball is delivered, the strikei' may follow it, but should not run too far, so that, if no runs be obtained, he may return in time to save his wicket. The bat should be kept on the outside of the opposite partner, and care taken not to run against him. THE WICKET-KEEPER. The wicket-keeper should not suffer the striker to move from his ground without knocking down his wicket, which is called " stumping out." THE FIRST SHORT-SLIP. «^ The first short-slip should stand so as to reach within two feet of the wicket-keeper ; if the latter should go from the wicket after the ball, the first short-slip should take his place until his return ; but no player should take the ball before the wicket-keeper, provided it be comiiig straight to him. THE POINT, The point should place himself in the popping-crease, about seven yards from the striker. In backing up, he should take care to give the slip suffi- cient room. LEG, OR SLIP. Leg, or slip, should stand a little back from the straight line of the pop- ping-crease. LONG-STOP. Long-stop should stand a proper distance behind the wicket, to save a run, if the ball should not be stopped by the striker or wicket-keeper. The person who is placed in this situation, should not be afraid of the ball when bowled swift. He should also be able to throw in well, as it is not only to the balls that pass the wicket-keeper, but to such as are just tipped with the edge of the bat, that he will have to attend. He must also be attentive in backing up. THE LONG-SLIP TO COVER THE SHORT-SLIP. This player must stand about the same distance from the wicket as the iong-sto[), in a line with the striker, between the point and the short- slip. TO COVER THE POINT AND MIDDLE-WICKET. This player's place is on the off" side, ?o that if the ball should be hit to the point and iMi.Lllf'-Aviclvet man, and missed, lie will be in readiness to receive it. 54 CRICKET. THE LONG-SLIP OFF SIDE. He should be placed on the off side, between the middle wicket-man and the bowler, at a considerable distance in the field, so as to cover them. It is desirable to appoint a person to this situation, who can tlirow well and judiciously. LONG-FIELD ON SIDE. Long-field on side is at some distance wide of the bowler's wicket, so as to prevent a second run. If there be more players, they may be placed to back up, or save runs, in different situations about the field. LAWS OF CRICKET. The bowler should deliver the ball with one foot behind the bowling crease, and within the return crease. He should bowl four balls before a change of wickets, which he is to do but once in the same innings. He must be careful to toss the ball in such a way that the striker can play at it I for if he should toss it above the striker's head, or out of the bounds of the bowling-crease, the party which is in shall be allowed one notch, to be put down to the byes ; and such ball is not considered as one of the four halls. When the umpire calls " In ball," the hitter may strike at it, and get all the runs he can. When an exchange of bowler takes place, no more than two balls can be allowed for practice. If the arm be extended straight from the body, or the back part of the hand be uppermost when tlie ball is delivered, the umpire shall immediately call " No ball." The striker, or batsman, is always out when the bail is knocked off the stump ; when a stump is bowled out of the ground ; or, if the ball should, from a stroke over or under his bat, or upon his hands, (but not his wrists,) be held before it touches the ground, even if it should be pressed to the body of the catcher; or if, while he is striking, or at any other time when the ball is in play, both his feet are over the popping-crease, and his wicket put down, except when his bat be on the ground within it. Likewise, if lie hit down his own wicket ; or, if either of the strikers prevent a ball from being caught, the striker shall be out; or, if the ball be struck up, and the hitter wilfully strike it again; or if, in attempting to run a notch, the wicket be struck down by a throw, or with the ball in hand, before his foot, hand, or bat is grounded over die popping-crease : If the striker remove or take up his ball while in ])lay, without being requested by the opposite party ; or if, with his leg or foot, he stop a ball which has been pitched in a straight line to the striker's wicket. If "A lost ball" be called, the striker gliall be allowed four notches. If the players have crossed each other in CRICKET. 56 running, he that runs for the wicket which is put down, shall be out ; but if they have not crossed each other, he that has left the wicket which is put down, shall be out. When a ball is caught, no notch shall be reckoned. When a striker is rim out, the notch they were running for shall not be reckoned. While the ball is kept in the bowler's or wicket-keeper's hand, it is considered no longer hi play, nor are the strikers bound to keep within their bounds, till the um- pire has called " Play ;" but if a player should go out of his ground, with intent to run, before the ball is delivered, the bowler may put him out. If a striker be hurt by a ball, or otherwise, during his play, he may retire from his wicket and continue his inning ; and another person may be permitted to stand out for Jiim, but not go in. If any player should stop the ball inten- tionally with his bat, it shall then be considered dead, and the opposite party may add five notches to the score. If the ball be struck up, the striker may guard his wicket either with his bat or his body. If the striker hit the bail against the wicket of his partner when he is ofif his ground, he is out, if it have previously touched the bowler's or any of the field-men's hands, but not otherwise. Two minutes are allowed for each man to come in, and fifteen minutes between eacli innings; Avlien upon the umpires calling " Play," the party refusing to play, shall lose the match. The umpire should observe the situation of the boAvler's foot when he de- livers the ball, and if it be not behind the bowling-crease, and within the return-crease, he shall call " No ball." If the striker should run a notch, the umpire shall call " No notch." The umpire at the bowler's wicket has a right to be first applied to for his decision on the catches. SINGLE WICKET. The game of Single Wicket is not so interesting as that of Double Wicket ; but it may be played by almost any number of persons, though it is seldom played with more than four or six on a side. The business of a bowler and striker is nearly the same as in Double Wicket. When the striker runs to the bowler's wicket, and knocks the bail from off two stumps placed there, with his bat, and returns to his own wicket without having it knocked down by the ball, he is entitled to count one notch. After he has run one notch, if he start for another, he must touch, the bow- ling stump, and turn again, before the ball crosses the play, to entitle him to another notch. He is entitled to three notches for a lost ball. If four, or a less number are at play, then they should make all hits before the wicket, with bounds, &c. and not move off the ground, except Dy agreement. Where there are more than four players on a side, there should be no bounds ; and all hits, byes, and overthrows, should be allowed. It is, of course, to be understood, that the bowler must bowl at the usual 56 CRICKET. distance from the wicket. No more than one minute is to be allowed be- tween each ball. When the striker hits the ball, one of his feet must be on the ground, and behind the popping-crease ; otherwise the umpire shall call *' No hit." Ihe field's-man must return the bail, so that it shall cross the play between the wicket and tlie bowling-stump ; or between the wicket and the bounds ; the striker may run till the ball shall be so returned. These are the principal rules and regulations adopted by the most experienced Cricket-players, at the game of Single Wicket. The distance between the wickets is precisely the same as at Double Wicket, consequently, the runner has twice the ground to run, in obtaining each notch ; but we would sug- gest, that this evil might be remedied by running only a little more than half the usual distance : by this method. Single Wicket will be rendered much less fatiguing, and far more lively and amusing, at least to the Batsman. GYMNASTICS. "^?^^^'^'^^=::s^2^^?!^?^^ EnrolPd among our Gymnasts, the pale youth Whose limbs, erewhile, weak and of muscle void. Totter 'd beneath their puny load, soon gains The bloom of health ; and issues forth, at last. Robust and hardy as the mountaineer. Gymnastic Exercises have lately attained considerable popularity, not only in this country, but also in Prussia, and other parts of the Continent. They may be said to be a series of regular and systematic exercises, adapted to bring into play, and consequently improve, the strength and activity of the various muscles in the human frame : imparting a knowledge of the proper use of each, and teaching the pupil the means of disposing of his natural powers to the best advantage. They are also calculated to inspire him with confidence in a moment of danger, and to enable him to extricate himself, as well as others, from peril, by his increased bodily agility, and the experience he has acquired, as to the most advantageous mode of its application. A cotemporary writer on this subject makes the following ob- servations in support of the assertion that Gymnastic Exercises confer courage and presence of mind. " Courage is generated by confidence, and confidence is acquired by practice. A hazardous undertaking which we 58 GYMNASTICS. have often achieved, ceases to be considered as any fiuther dangerous than affording us an occasion to call forth all our energies. The well-taught Gymnast would, in a case of necessity, take a leap which few could per- form, if any would venture. Leaps of great distances and heights he has often attempted with success. By him the length, the height, and the inter- vening obstacles could be measm*ed in a moment. Rehearsals of such situations and circumstances have been his daily amusement. He cannot be dismayed at danger who has often played with it, and the principles of his art have supplied him with means to disarm it of half its power. To illustrate the foregoing remarks, we shall here relate what we consider an instance of the coolness, accuracy, and presence of mind to be acquired by daily practice. Walking out one day near the city of Edinbm-gh, our at- tention was attracted to a field where the Royal Company of Archers were practising. A man, hired for the purpose, and trained to the duty, was stationed at the target, with a small flag in his hand to mark tlie spot where the arrows fell, the distance being very considerable. It is incredible with what accurate perception this man followed the arrow in its rapid passage along the arch it made in the sky; and with what accuracy he seemed to conjecture how near the target, or on what side it would fall. He stood close to the target, almost touching it with his right arm; one arrow flew through the air ; he narrowly observed the feathered messenger advancing rapidly in its course — he stepped one step to the left, and the arrow stuck firmly in the ground a few inches to his right, betwixt him and the target. He waved his flag to the spot, and a second arrow was sent ; from this he escaped by darting a little to the right. To save himself from the third, he had no occasion to move from his station, as he coolly saw it deposited in the lower part of the target. It is needless to detail the rest. The arrows stuck before, behind, and on each side of him. The exercise at last con- cluded; and it seemed no less surprising to us, the insensibility of danger which this man, for the sake of a little gain, exhibited, than the confidence which his employers doubtless had in the acirteness of his perception." The same writer elsewhere observes that "the ancients, particularly the free states of Greece, cultivated the study of gymnastics as an important oranch of the education of youth. Having frequently to defend their lib- erties, either against the encroachments of kindred states, or the ambition of powerful fi)reign enemies, they considered it highly necessary to inure their youth to hardy and even violent exercise, that their minds might not be daunted in the hour of danger, nor their bodies sink under the necessary fatigues of warfare." GYMNASTICS. 59 GYMNASTIC EXERCISES. The necessary fittings-up of a Gymnastic ground are as follows : — Am horizontal bar, a vaulting-horse, a leaping-stand, parallel bars, a climbing- stand, and ladders of rope and wood. The best time for performing Gymnastics is early in the morning. Boys should proceed gradually from the more easy to the more difficult exercises ; and it is most advisable to practise these sports under the eye of an expe- rienced person. Where there is a number of boys, they should be divided into classes, according to their strength. It is advisable to carry no toys- in the pockets when practising ; extra clothes should be put on when the exercises are finished ; and the usual precautions adopted to prevent taking cold. The following observations, which are principally from Salzmann, may be perused with advantage. No person in health is injured by being over- heated; but drinking when extremely hot, or being cooled too quickly, in; whatever manner it happens may prove highly pernicious. It is proper,, therefore to take off whatever clothing can be decently spared, before begin- ning to exercise, and put it on again immediately after. Lying down upon the cold ground, too, must not be allowed. On commencing any 60 GYMNASTICS. exercise, begin, not with its more violent degrees, but with the more gentle,. and leave off in the same manner ; sudden transitions are always danger- ous. Never let bodily exertion, or your attempts to harden the frame, be carried to excess : let your object be to strengthen the feeble body, not to exhaust and render it languid. In all exercises, attention should be paid to such a position of all the parts of the body, that none may be exposed to injury : for examf)le, the tongue must never be suffered to remain be- tween the teeth. The left hand and arm are commonly weaker than the right ; let them be frequently exercised, therefore, by lifting, carrying, and supporting the weight of the body by suspension, till they become as strong as the others. Although walking, running, dancing, balancing, vaulting, climbing, jumping, wrestling, riding, swimming, and all other muscular exercises, may be included in the term Gymnastics, the common course adopted at tlie schools includes only walking, running, jumping, vaulting, balancing, and climbino-. In walking, the arms should move freely by the side, tlie head be kept up, tlie stomach in, the shoulders back, the feet parallel with the ground, and the body resting neitlier on the toe nor heel, but on the ball of the foot. On starting, the pupil should rise one foot, keep the knee and instep straight, the toe bent downward. When this foot reaches the ground, the same should be repeated with the otlier. This should be practised imtil the pupil walks firmly and gracefully. In running, the legs should not be raised too high; the arms should be nearly still, so that no unnecessary opposition be given to the air by useless motions. Running in a circle is excellent exercise, but tlie direc- tion should be occasionally changed, so that botli sides may be equally worked. The first rule in jumping is, to fall on the toes and never on the heels« Bend the knees, that the calves of the legs may touch the thighs. Swing the arms forward when taking a spring, break the fall with the hands, if necessary ; hold the breath, keep the body forward, come to the ground with both feet together, and in taking the run, let your steps be short, and in- crease in quickness as you approach the leap. Begin with a moderate height or breadth, and increase both as you improve. GYMNASTICS. 61 PARALLEL BARS. Begin by raising the body by the hands, and then moving the hands alternately backward and forward, until you go along the bars each way by means only of your hands. Then move or jump with both hands at once. The swing is performed by supporting the body by the arms, with the stomach up- ward, until the toes are in a straight line with the head ; when the pupil can do this with ease, he should throw his body from this position over the bar to the right or left. The movement of lowering the body by bending the elbows is done by drawing up the feet toward the hams, and sinking gradually until the elbows are even with the head; rise again by straightening the arms, and repeat the exercise sev- eral times. Many other exercises may be performed on these bars, which will occur to the pupil in the course of his practice. HORIZONTAL BAR. The first position is taking hold of the bar with both hands, and raising the body until the chin is on a line with the knuckles. When you can look over the bar in this manner with ease, place the hands on the further side of the bar from you, and raise the body as before. In the next ex- ercise, the body is raised from the ground by both hands on each side of the bar, and the pupil passes, j springs, or moves the hands alter- nately along the bar. Keep the legs close, lift the feet so as to touch the bar and sink them down again ; repeat this several times , and wli en in this position, pass along the bar by alternately moving the hands ; the body may then be supported by the right arm and left leg, and afterward by tlie left arm and right leg; you may then place yourself in a riding posi- tion on the bar. You may also swing with the head downward, take the bar with both hands, and pass the feet between them, until they hang down- 62 •GYMNASTICS. ward ; you may either return them tlie same way, or drop upon your toes to the ground. THE LONG LEAP. Make a trench, which widens gradually from one end to the other, so that the breadth of the leap may be increased daily. Keep the feet close together, and take your spring from the toes of one foot, which should be quickly drawn up to the other, and they should descend at the same instant ; throw the arms and body forward, especially in descending. Take a rim of about twenty paces. THE DEEP LEAP This is performed from a flight of steps, increasing the depth according to the progress of the pupil. The body should be bent forward, the feet close together, and the hands ready to touch the ground at the same time with or rather before the feet. We do not, however, much approve of this exercise. THE HIGH LEAP. Get a stand made of two upright posts, bored through with holes, du'ough which you may pass a string at what length you please, with sand bags of sufficient weight to keep it straight, and yet not so heavy as to pre- vent your carrying it away with your foot, in case you touch it while leaping ; or you may have holes bored to admit movable pegs to support the string, as in the cut. You must take this leap both standing and with a run ; for the former, the legs should be kept together, and the feet and knees raised in a straight direction ; for the lat- ter, we recommend a short run, and a light tripping step, gradually quickened as the leaper approaches the string. You should be particularly careful not to alight on your heels, but ratlier on the toes and balls of the feet. THE HIGH LEAP WITH THE POLE. Take the pole with the right hand about the height of the head, and with the left about the height of the hips ; when put to the ground, spring with tlie right foot, and pass by the left of the pole, over whatever you )iave to clear, turning round as you alight, so as to front the place you leap fi'om. GYMNASTICS. 63 THE DEEP LEAP WITH THE POLE. This requires strength in the arms and hands. Place the pole the depth you have to leap, lower the body forward, cast oif your feet and swing round the pole so as to alight with your face fronting the point you leaped from. Come to the ground, if possible, on the balls of your feet. THE LONG LEAP WITH THE POLE. This is performed precisely as the last, only that you spring forward, rather than high ; it may be practised across the trench. VAULTING. The horse for vauhing is made of a wooden cylinder with rounded ends ; two ridges are placed across it, the space between which is called the sad- dle, and should be wide enough apart for a person to sit between them with ease. The horse may be wadded or not, according to fancy. Leaping on the horse is performed by springing by the hands astride upon it. The body is raised in the same manner, until the feet reach high enough to stand on the horse ; the hands are then to be placed on the lurther ridge, and the body thrown forward into the saddle. Vaulting into the saddle may be performed with or without a run ; place the hands on one of the ridges, take a spring, and turn the body on one side, so that one leg may pass over the horse, and the performer descend astride into the saddle. To vault sidew^ays over the horse, the hands must be placed as above, and a spring made sufficient to throw the feet over the horse ; one hand then leaves its hold, and you descend on the other side. To vault on or over the saddle forward, take hold of each ridge with the hands, and spring between them, so as to rest or to go over the saddle. TO CLIMB THE ROPE. In climbing the rope the hands are to be moved alternately, one above the other, the feet drawn up between every movement of the hands, and the rope grasped firmly between them ; in descending, move one hand aftei- the other, as the friction, if you slide, would blister them. The best method to climb the slant rope is to lay the sole of one foot flat on the rope, and the other leg over tlie instep of that foot. 64 GYMNASTICS. THE PLANK. The breadth of the plank should he about two feet ; its thickness, tvto inches ; to climb it, the hands are to be placed on each side, and the feet on its surface ; ascend by moving them al- ternately. Elevate the plank by degrees as you improve in the exercise. The progress that may be made in the ascension of the plank is astonishing. We know several Gymnasts who can ascend a plank in a per- pendicular position, without difficulty. To do this, the body and feet are in a different position to that represented in the marginal cut, where the figure in merely travelling up an inclined plane ; to ascend a perpendicu- lar plank, the body is curved inward more from the shoulders downward, and the leg3 thrust up so that the higher one is nearly even with the hand. ASCENDING THE LADDER. Take liold of each side of the ladder, and ascend by moving the hands alternately. To climb the ladder by rundels, the learner must bring the elbow of the arm which happens to be the lowest, down to the ribs, before he pulls himself up by the other. To climb the ladder by one side, take hold of one side of the ladder with both hands, the palms toward the outer part of the side ; move the hands alternately, and keep the legs close and steady. TO CLIMB THE PERPENDICULAR OR SLANT POLE. Move the legs and hands alternately, taking care, however, not to place the hands over each other, as in climbing the rope. In descending the pole, the hands are held ready to be used, if necessary, on each side of it; the legs being then a little slackened, you will descend witli great ease. FLYING STEPS. This is a very beneficial exercise. Fix a beam firmly in the ground, with a strong iron cap, that moves in a circular horizontal position, at the top of it ; four ropes are to be fixed to the cap, and bars of wood fastened at the bottom of the ropes, which are to be taken hold of, and the pupils vault round, bearing the weight on the rope, and continually increasing in speed until they touch the gi'ound only at intervals with their toes. ( Vide cut at tlie commencement of Gymnastic Exercises.) GYMNASTICS, 65 GYMNASTIC RECREATIONS. The following Recreations of skill and agility, will, we have no doubt, prove highly attractive to our youthful readers ; they are, with two or three exceptions, entirely distinct from the usual Gymnastic Exercises ; and will he found, on account of their being less formal,, more amusing, perhaps, than the preceding ones. STEPPING THROUGH YOUR OWN FINGERS. Get a bit of wood, or half of a tobacco-pipe, hold it between tlie two fore- fingers of each hand, and, without letting it go, after a little practice, you may leap over it, forward and backward, without difficulty : when perfect in this, you may, as the writer of this has frequently done, place the tops of the two middle fingers together, and leap over them both ways, without either separating or touching them with the feet. It is impossible to per- form this trick with high-heeled shoes ; and, in fact, the great difficulty consists in clearing the heels. THE TRIUMPH. Place the palms of the hands together, behind you, with the fingers down- ward, and the thumbs nearest the back ; then, still keeping as much as pos- sible of the palms together, and, at least, the fingers of one hand touching those of the other, turn the hands, by keeping the tops of the fingers close to tlie back, until the ends are between the shoulders, with the palms togetlier, the thumbs outward, and the tops of the fingers toward the head. Tiiis hs % very difficult feat, and well deserves its title. 66 GYMNASTICS. THE JAVELIN. This is a capital Gymnastic Recreation. Get a heavy pole, shod at one mid with iron, or a spike, if you think proper ; elevate it with the other hand to the height of the ear, and cast it at a target. At some of the Gymnastic schools, the pupils are taught to cast the pole with their fingers, as they would a reed ; this is a bad practice, — the spear should be grasped witn the whole hand, the but-end of it coming out be- tween the fore-finger and thumb, and the firont or shod part projecting from the little finger, which ought to encircle it as much as its thickness will permit ; poise it accurately, and take your aim deliberately before you cast it. When you cast, throw your arm back as far as possible, and deliver tlie pole with all your force. DOT AND CARRY TWO. The person who is to perform this exploit, (whom we shall designate as No. 1,) stands between two otliers, (whom we shall call Nos. 2 and 3;) he then stoops down and passes his right hand behind the left thigh of No. 2, whose hand he grasps ; and his left hand behind the right thigh of No. 3, whose left hand he grasps. Nos. 2 and 3 then pass each one arm round the neck and shoulders of No. 1, and when in this position. No. 1, by raising himself gradually from his stooping position, lifts the others from the ground. PROSTRATE AND PERPENDICULAR. Hold yoiu* arms on your breast, lie on your back and get up again, wiiii^ out making use of either your elbows or hands. THE FLYING BOOK. Place a book, or other convenient thing, between the two feet, in such a way that it is held between the ancles and the inner side of the feet ; then kick up, backwards, with both feet, and throw the book over your head. KNUCKLE DOWN, An exercise of some d'ifiiculty, is performed by putting the toes against a chalk line, kneeling down and rising up again, without any assistance of the hands, or moving the toes from the chalk line. GYMNASTICS. 67 THE LONG REACH. A line is to be marked on tlie floor, to which botli feet, or rather, the ioes of both your feet are to be brought, and beyond which they must not pass. One hand, either right or left, at option, is then to be thrown forward (without toucliing the floor in its pas- eage) so far and no farther than you can spring back again from the horizontal "^-^ position to the original up right position of the body, without disturbing the stated posture of tlie feet, or scraping the floor with the hand in the back-spring. The distance, at which different persons can thus spring back ficom the hand, will, of course, differ according to their length of arm, or their strength and activity. Wiien you have ascertained the distance at which you can recover with- out scraping the liand, or clianging the original position of your feet, you jsiust stretch forward as far as possible ; and whilst yoi?r body is supported hy th.e hand on the floor, chalk as far as possible with the other; after this, rise up from your hand and recover your original position, without touching the ground again with either hand. There is great scope for skill and ac- tivity in this feat, and there are persons not exceeding Ave feet, or five feet and a few inches, who will chalk considerably further than others six feet iiigh. The great art is, to bring yoiar body as near to the floor as possible ; for which purpose, it is recommended, (and allowable,) to move the feet backward from the line of demarcation, as far as you can, which will bring the body much lower than it is in the tigure, and enable you to chalk, at least, the full length of yourself, which is considered pretty good chalking^, although there are persons who will exceed the distance very considerably^. Those Avho perform this trick the best, contrive, when on the stretch, that the body may rest upon the elbow. CHAIRING THE LEG. Place the left foot on the lower back rail of a chair, then pass your right leg over the back of the chair, and bring it to the floor between the chair and your left leg- This is to be done without touching the chair witii your hand. In doing this trick, the chair should not stand upon a slippery floor, a^ it inay move from under you, and cause a fall; a heavy chair should also be selected, and great care taken while performing it. £ 2 68 GYMNASTICS. THE TURN-OVER. In performing this feat, it is necessary to take a run of half-a-dozen paces. The trick is to place the toe of the right foot against the wall, about the heiglit of the knee from the ground, and to throw the left leg over it, making an entire revolution, so that when your left leg reaches the ground, your back will be to the wall. The toe of the right foot is the point upon which you must turn; and it must not quit the wall during the performance of the exploit. To per- form the turn-over appears to be a matter of considerable difficulty, at the first glance of the description; but it may be attempted by a lad of tolerable activity, who has made him- self master of the instructionsjwithout danger, and, in a short time, accoraplislied with facility. Ordinary care must, of course, be taken during the early attempts. TRIAL OF THE THUMB. This feat is very simple. Place the inside of the thumb against the edge of a table, and then move your feet backward as far as you can from the table, so as to be able to re- cover your upright position by the spring of your thumb without moving your feet. You may accomplish this feat with much greater ease, if, pre- viously to springing from the thumb, you make two or three bends to and fro with your body. Neither the fin- gers, nor any part of the hand, except the thumb, should touch the table. It is advisable to begin by making the spring with your feet at a short dis- tance only from the table at first, and ' to draw them further from it gradual- ly as you improve in the performance of the feat. The table from which you spring ought to be a heavy one, or the opposite end of it placed close against a wall, otherwise you may push it back when making your spring ; in which case, a fall on tlie hands and knees would be almost inevitable. GYMNASTICS. 69 THE PALM-SPRING. A feat, which affords excellent exercise, something similar to the Thumb-trick, is performed by standing with your face toward a wall and throwing yourself forward, until you support yourself from falling, by the palm of one of the hands being placed, with the fingers upward, against tlie wallj when in this position, you must recover your former erect station by springing from yom* hand, without bringing your feet forward. Accord- ing to the greater or less distance you stand from the wall, the more or less difficult the feat will be. As in the feat of the Trial of the Thumb, it is better to begin the performance of the Palm-spring at a short distance only from the wall, at first ; by practice, if you are active and resolute, you may, at last, rise with ease with your feet placed full two-thirds of your own height distant from the wall. THE STOOPING STRETCH. This feat, in which considerable agility may be acquired by practice, is performed in the following manner : draw a line on the floor, against which place the outer edge of the right foot ; at a moderate distance behind the right heel, place the left heel against the line. Take a piece of chalk in the right hand, stoop a little forward, pass the right hand between the legs immediately under the right knee, and challi the floor as far beyoad the line as you can, so that you can re^ cover yourself without moving the toes of the feet, or touching the ground with either of your hands. In this case there is no spring from the hand, as the chalk only, which is held between tlie two fore-fingers, touches the floor. Your knee and body may project over the chalk Ime, if your feet keep tlieir proper place, as above directed, on tlie outer side of it. 70 GYMNASTICS, TDMBLE-DOWN DTCX. This feat must be performed with a long-backed chair ; place the knees Oft the extremity of the feet of the chair, ir^ the position indicated by th& cut, and, with your two liands, take hold about the seat rail ; bring your face down to touch tlie back of the chairy upon which, at the extremity, or as near as you can< come without falling forward, or suifei'ing the top of the chair to touch the floor, a piece of money^ or &c. is placed,, which is to be removed with the nioutli. Muck of the management in this trick depends upon properly regulating, the position cf the hands, which may be shifted as you find neces- sary, up or doAvn the upright pieces which form the hack of tlie chair. strong, old-fashioned kitchen chair is the best for tliis purpose. THE FINGER-FE.AT. Your arms must be horizontally placed across the breast, and close to it j. the f()re-ting(irs of each hand hmst then be brought into contact. In this position another person m^ust endeavour to separate ycur fingers ])y pulling at each arm. However mu(;h stronger lie maybe than yoUylie will not be hiiie to detach your fingers, if you hold them properly. It nuist be -agreed^ j)ievJously, that the j)erson who attem]:ts to separate the lingers of tlie other siiall not use a sudden jerk, but a regular force TWO TO ONE. With the skip})ing-rope several excellent exercises may be performed | tlie best, perhaps, is the f >llowing. Skip in the common way for a few seconds, constantly increasing your velocity of moveuient, and, at length,, leaf) tolerably high, and whirl the rope round so fist that it may pass twice imder your feet before they touch the ground ; continue this until you can repeat it several times in succession, and, at last, pass the rope three times, instead of twice, under your feet during the leap. LIFTING AT ARM's LENGTH. Elevating a pole at arm's length has long been accounted a superior feat ; to do this, the arm must be stretched out at full length, the pole (the poker will do to begin with) grasped with the nails upward, and elevated in a right line with the arm. GYMNASTICS. 71 LEAP BEFORE YOU LOOK. Much care must be taken in this, as well as in " The Tumble-down Dick " feat, lest you hurt yourself. Procure a chair that is strong, and, at the same time, so narrow in the back that you can bestride it with ease ; staad on the seat, push with your hands against the top rail, and yom* knees against the middle one, until you get it tilted on its back legs ; but before you lose your foot- ing, leap from the seat, so as to alight on the ground, still holding the top rail in your hand, and the back of the chair between your legs. We repeat that great caution is necessary at first, but after a lit- tle practice, the feat is very easy. Without confidence in your owii powers, it can never be performed ; to give you this necessary confidence, be assured that hundreds have sujo- ceeded in achieving it. THE GREAT WOODEN BALL. Casting the wooden ball is a very good recreation. A large wooden bowler, in which several holes are bored, is used for this purpose. Place your thumb in one of these holes, and your middle, or fore-finger, in anoth- er, and cast it, under-handed, either at a mark or for a distance. The com- mon bowl used in skittle-alleys, (we do not mean those used for nine-pins,) will afford a pattern ; the maker must, however, remember that its dimen- sions are to be decreased, it being too heavy, and the finger-lioles too far apart for the use of boys. It ought to be adapted in size, to the age of those persons for whose use it is intended. THE TANTALUS TRICK. An amusing scene may be produced by requesting a person to stand with his back close against the wall, and, when in this position, placing a piece of money on the ground, a short distance before him, and offering it to him if he can pick it up without moving his heels from the wall. This, lie will find, is impossible, as, on stooping forward, a part of the body goes back beyond tiie heels, which, in this case, the wall will, of course, prevent. 72 GYMNASTICS. TO TAKE A CHAIR FROM UNDER YOU WITHOUT FALLING. The figure represents a youth with the back part of his head resting on one stout chair, and his heels upon another, and a third chair, which ought to be of rather a lighter make, is placed under him. He must stiffen his body and limbs, throw up the chest, keep the shoulders down, and disengage the middle chair, which he must carry round over his oody until he deposit it again under him on the opposite side. This is an- other of tiiose feats which seem very difficult, but which are, in fact, easy of execution. Be assured that if yon do not succeed in it, provided the micf- dle chair be not too heavy for your strength, it is because you have not suf- ficiently attended to the instructions. THE POKER PUZZLE. This feat is to be performed with a common fire- poker, which you must hold near the top, between the fingers and tl^umb, as shown in the annexed cut. You must then, by tlie mere motion of the fingers and thumb, work or screw the poker upward, until the slender part is moved up to the hand, whilst the poker remains perpen- dicular during the whole process. For the first few times that this is attempted to be done, considerable difficulty will be met with, as it not only requires strengtli in the fingers, proportionate to the weight of the poker, but also a certain knack, which is only to be acquired by prac- tice. We have seen some persons perform the poker puzzle, apparently without the least exertion, while otliers of equal strength have tried their utmost, and failed in the execution of it at last. THE PULLEY, Fasten a common pulley to a horizontal piece of wood, or the branch of a tree ; run a cord through it, with a cross piece of wood at each end ; two boys take hold of these cross pieces, — one lies on his back, and the other pulls him up, sinking himself as he raises his companion ; he, in turn, is elevated in the same manner, and thus each sinks and is raised alternately. GYMNASTICS. 73 BREAST TO MOUTH. Many persons find much difficulty in performing this feat. Measure the distance between the outside of the elbow and the extremity of the longest finger : mark that distance on a walking-stick or ruler, as shown by Fig. 2. Tliis stick must be held horizontally before you, as in the annexed sketch. Fig. 1 ; the middle finger being placed exactly over the mark ; the fingers must be kept at right angles with the stick, and the thumb placed over them, as shown by the fist grasping the stick. (Fig. 2.) Holding the stick in this position you must, without changing the place of your fingers, lowering your head, or re- moving your elbow from your side, endeavour to raise the left end of the stick fiom your breast to yom* mouth. THE CATCH-PENNY. This is a trick with which many of our young friends are, doubtless^ well acquainted; there ai*e others of ihem who never heard of it, and we therefore give a sufiiciently minute description of the manner of doing it, for the benefit of those who are in the latter case. Place two, three, or even four penny pieces, in a heap, on your elbow, as in cut ; drop your elbow suddenly, and bring yom* hand to a little below where your elbow was, and you may catch them all. It is impossible, however, to ac- complish this, unless you bring your hand exactly beneath tlie place of your elbow, and perform the motion with quickness. Walking on stilts is practised by the shepherds of the Landes, or desert;^ in the South of France. The habit is acquired early, and the smaller the 74 GYMNASTICS. boy is, the longer it is necessary to have his suits. By means of these odd additions to the natural leg, the feet are kept out of the water, which lies deep during winter on the sands, and from the heated sand during the sum- mer ; in addition to which, the sphere of vision over so perfect a flat is ma- terially increased by the elevation, and the shepherd can see his sheep much further on stilts than he could from the ground. Stilts are easily construct- ed : two poles are procured, and at some distance from their ends, a loop of leather or rope is securely fastened ; in these the feet are placed, the poles are kept in a proper position by the hands, and put forward by the action of the legs. A superior mode of making stilts is by substituting a piece of wood, flat on the upper surface, for the leather loop ; the foot rests on and is fas- tened by a strap to it; a piece of leather or rope is also nailed to the stilt, and passed round the leg just below the knee ; stilts made in this manner do not reach to the hands, but are managed entirely by the feet and legs. In many parts of England, boys and youth frequently amuse themselves by SMamiwi on stilts. SWIMMING. " This is the purest exercise of health, The kind refresher of the summer heats." THOMSON. Man, it is supposed, possesses all the requisite powers for swiniming. and could traverse deep waters like other animals, were he not deprived of the use of such powers by fear, the effect of prejudice, precipitation or impatience. Courage has frequently enabled persons to swim at the first attempt, wliile excessive timidity has prevented others, for a long time, fi'om being able to keep themselves, even for a few moments, afloat. Swim- ming has now become an art, and certain rules may be given for its at- tainment, by the aid of which, and a little practice, the most timid may eventually acquire the delightful power of "sporting in the silver flood." " In addition to its advantages as a healthy and bracing exercise, humanity alone, the pleasure of being not only able to preserve our own lives, but those of otliers, ought certainly to be sufficient inducement to acquire a dex- terity in this most useful art. When it is considered that ours is a country having the ocean for its frontier, and that in the interior there is none in the world more abounding in rivers, brooks, lakes, and artificial canals ; and when it is recollected that England is the first maritime nation in the world, it may seem surprising that such a proportionately small number of its inhabitants can swim. It might have been much more naturally iiv 76 SWIMMING. ferred, that every inhabitant of our island felt almost as much at ease in the water as on dry ground. The upsetting of the slender boats of the natives ofOtaheite, is to them a subject of merriment; they swim about, take hold of the light vessel, right her again, and paddle away, never consider- ing they have been in any danger. Were the practice of swimming uni- versal in this country, and it might be so, we should hardly ever read of deaths by drowning." It would be useless to enlarge fuilher upon the ad- vantages to be derived from acquiring this art ; they must be evident to the most inexperienced. Before we proceed to those rules by which our youthful readers may be enabled to attain proficiency, we conceive that we shall be conferring a benefit on them by offering to their notice some extracts from Doctor Buchan's remarks, and tlie excellent advice of the celebrated philosopher, Doctor Franklin, on this subject. DOCTOR buchan's REMARKS. *' Immersion in cold water is a custom which lays claim to the most re- tnote antiquity ; indeed, it must be coeval with man himself. The necessity of water for the purpose of cleanliness, and the pleasure arising from its ap- plication to the body in hot countries, must have very early recommended it to the human species. Even the example of other animals was sufficient to give the hint to man ; by instinct many of them are led to apply cold water in this manner ; and some, when deprived of its use, have been known to languish, and even to die. " The cold bath recommends itself in a variety of cases, and is peculiarly beneficial to the inhabitants of populous cities, who indulge in idleness, and lead sedentary lives. It accelerates the motion of the blood, promotes the different secretions, and gives permanent vigor to the solids. But all these important purposes will be more essentially answered by the appli- cation of salt water. This ought not only to be preferred on account of its superior gravity, but likewise for its greater power of stimulating the skin, which promotes the perspiration, and prevents the patient from catch- ing cold. " It is necessary, however, to observe, that cold bathing is more likely to prevent than to remove obstructions o^^e glandular or lymphatic system ; indeed, when these have arrived at a certain height, they are not to be re- moved by any means. In this case, the cold bath will only aggravate the symptoms, and hurry the unhappy patient into an untimely grave ; it is, therefore, of the utmost importance, previously to the patient's entering upon tlie use of the cold bath, to determine whether or not he labors under any obstinate obstruction of the lungs or other viscera : and, where this is tlie case, cold bathing ought strictly to be prohibited. SWIMMING, 77 " In what is called a pletlioric state, or too great fulness of the body, it IS likewise dangerous to use the cold bath, without due preparation. In this case, there is great danger of bursting a blood-vessel, or occasioning an inflammation. " The ancient Greeks and Romans, we are told, when covered with sweat and dust, used to plunge into rivers without receiving the smallest injury. Though they might escape danger from this imprudent conduct, yet it was certainly contrary to soimd reason. Many robust men have thrown away their lives by such an attempt. We would not, however, advise patients to go in the cold water when the body is chilled ; as much exercise, at least, ought to be taken, as may excite a gentle glow all over the body, but by no means so as to overheat it. *' To young people, and particularly to children, cold bathing is of the ut- most importance ; it promotes their growth, increases their strength, and prevents a variety of diseases incidental to childhood. *' It is, however, necessary here, to caution young men against too fre- quent bathing ; as many fatal consequences have resulted from the daily practice of plunging into rivers, and continuing there too long. " The most proper time of the day for using the cold bath, is, no doubt, the morning, or, at least, before dinner ; and the best mode, that of quick immersion. As cold bathing has a constant tendency to propel the blood, and other humors, towards the head, it ought to be a rule always to wet that part as soon as possible. By due attention to this circumstance, there is reason to believe, that violent headaches, and other complaints which fre- quently proceed from cold bathing, might be often prevented. " The cold bath, when too long continued in, not only occasions an ex- cessive flux of humors toward the head, but chills the blood, cramps the muscles, relaxes the nerves, and wholly defeats the intention of bathing. Hence, by not adverting to this circumstance, expert swimmers are often in- jured, and sometimes, even lose their lives. All the beneficial purposes of cold bathing are answered by one immersion at a time ; and the patient ought to be rubbed dry the moment he comes out of the water, and should continue to take exercise for sometime after." DOCTOR franklin's ADVICE TO SWIMMERS. " The only obstacle to improvement, in this necessary and life-preserving art, is fear; and it is only by overcoming this timidity, that you can expect to become a master of the following acquirements. It is very common for novices in the art of swimming to make use of corks or bladders to assist in keeping the body above water ; some have utterly condemned the use of them ; however, they may be of service for supporting the body, while one is learning what is called the stroke, or that manner of drawing in and strik- ing out the hands and feet, tliat is necessary to produce progressive motion. 78 SWIMMING. But you will be no swimmer till you can place confidence in the power of the water to support you ; I would, therefore, advise the acquiring that con- fidence in the first place ; especial!}^ as I have known several, who, by a little practice necessary for that purpose, have insensibly acquired the Stroke, taught as if it were by nature. The practice I mean is this : choos- ing a place where the water deepens gradually, walk coolly into it till it is up to your breast ; then turn round y(;ur fiice to the shore, and throw an egg into the water between you and the shore ; it will sink to the bottom, and be easily seen there if tlie water be clean. It must lie in the water so deep that you cannot reach to take it up but by diving for it. To encourage yourself, in order to do this, reflect that your progress will be from deep to shallow water, and that at any time you may, by bringing your legs under you, and standing on the bottom, raise your head far above the water; then plunge under it with your eyes open, which must be kept open before going under, as you cannot open tlie eyelids for the weight of water above you ; throwing yourself toward the egg, and endeavouring, by the action of your hands and feet against the w^ater, to get forward, till within reach of it. In this attempt you will find that the water buoys you up against your inclina- tion ; that it is not so easy to sinK as you imagine, and that you cannot, but by active force get down to the egg. Thus you feel the power of water to support you, and learn to confide in that power, while your endeavours to overcome it, and reach the egg, teach you the manner of acting on the water with your feet and hands, which action is afterward used in swimming to support yom- head higher above the water, or to go forward through it. " 1 would the more earnestly press you to the trial of this method, be>- cause, though I think I shall satisfy you that your body is lighter than water, and that you might float in it a long time with your mouth free for breathing, if you would put yourself into a proper posture, and would be still, and for- bear struggling ; yet, till you have obtained this experimental confidence in the water, I cannot depend upon your having the necessary presence of mind to recollect the posture and the directions I gave you relating to it. The surprise may put all out of your mind, " Though the legs, arms, and head of a human body being solid parts, are, specifically, somewhat heavier than fresh water, yet the trunk, particu- larly the upper part, for its hollowness, is so much lighter than water, as that the whole of the body, taken altogether^ijs too light to sink wholly under wa- ter, but some part will remain above, until the lungs become filled with water, which happens from drawing water to them instead of air, when a person, in the fright, attempts breathing, while the mouth and nostrils are under water. " The legs and arms are specifically lighter than salt water, and will be supported by it, so that a human body cannot sink in salt water, though tlie lungs were filled as above, but from the greater specific gravity of the head. SWIMMING. 79 Therefore, a person throwing himself on his back in salt water, and extend- ing his arms, may easily lay so as to keep his mouth and nostrils free for breathing ; and, by a small motion of his hand, may prevent turning, if he should perceive any tendency to it. *' In fresh water, if a man throw himself on his back, near the surface, he Cannot long continue in that situation but by proper action of his hands on the water ; if he use no such action, tlie legs and lower part of the body will gradually sink till he come into an upright position, in which he will con- tinue suspended, the hollow of his breast keeping the head uppermost. " But if, in this erect position, the head be kept upright above the shoul- ders, as when we stand on tlie ground, the immersion will, by the weight of that part of the head that is out of the water, reach above the mouth and nostrils, perhaps a little above the eyes, so tliat a man cannot long remain suspended in water, with his head in that position. " The body continuing suspended as before, and upright, if the head be leaned quite back, so that the face look upward, all the back part of the head being under water, and its weight, consequently, in a great measm-e supported by it, the face will remain above water quite free for breathing, will rise an inch higher every inspiration, and sink as much every expira- tion, but never so low as that the water may come over the mouth. " If, therefore, a person unacquainted with swimming, and falling acci- dentally into the water, could have presence of mind sufficient to avoid strug- gling and plunging, and to let the body take this natural position, he might continue long safe from drowning, till, perhaps, help should come ; for, as to the clothes, their additional weight when immersed is very inconsiderable, the water supporting it ; though, when he comes out of the water, he would find them very heavy indeed. " But, as I said before, I would not advise you, or any one, to depend on having this presence of mind on such an occasion, but learn fairly to swim, as I wish all men were taught to do in their youth ; they would, on many occasions, be the safer for having that skill ; and, on many more, the hap- pier, as free from painful apprehensions of danger, to say nothing of the en- joyment in so delightful and wholesome an exercise. Soldiers particularly should, methinks, all be taught to swim ; it might be of frequent use, either in surprising an enemy or saving themselves ; and if I had now boys to ed- ucate, I should prefer those schools (other things being equal) where an op- I)ortunity was afforded for acquiring so advantageous an art, which, once earned, is never forgotten. " I know by experience, that it is a great comfort to a swimmer, who has a considerable distance to go, to turn himself sometimes on his back, and to vary, in other respects, tlie means of procuring a progressive motion. ** When he is seized with the cramp in the leg, tlie method of driving it 80 SWIMMING. away is, to give the parts affected a sudden, vigorous, and violent shocl^;, which he may do in the air as he swims on his back. '' During the great heats in summer thei'e is no danger in bathing, how- ever warm we may be, in rivers whicli have been thoroughly warmed by the sun. But to throw one's self into cold spring water, when the body has been heated by exercise in the sun, is an imprudence which may prove fatal. I once knew an instance of four young men, who, having worked at harvest in the heat of the day, with a view of refreshing themselves, plunged into a spring of cold water ; two died upon the spot, a third next morning, and the fourth recovered with great difficulty. A copious draught of cold water, in similar circumstances, is frequently attended with the same effect, in North America. " The exercise of swimming is one of the most healthj and agreeable in the world. After having swam for an hour or two in the evening, one sleeps coolly the whole night, even during the most ardent heats of summei'. Per- haps the pores being cleansed, the insensible perspiration increases and occasions this coolness. It is certain that much swimming is the means of stopping a diarrhoea, and even of producing a constipation. With respect to those who do not know how to swim, or who are affected with a diarrhoea at a season which does not permit them to use that exercise, a warm bath, by cleansing and purifying the skin, is found very salutary, and often effects a radical cure. I speak from my own experience, frequently repeated, and that of others to whom I have recommended this. '' When I was a boy, I amused myself one day with flying a paper kite, and approaching the banks of a lake, which was near a mile broad, 1 tied the string to a stake, and the kite ascended to a very considerable height above the pond, while I was swimming. In a little time, being desirous of amusing myself with my kite, and enjoying at the same time the pleasure of swimming, I returned, and loosing from the stake the string with the little stick which was fastened to it, went again into the water, where I found that, lying on my back, and holding the stick in my hand, I was drawn along the surface of the water in a very agreeable manner. Having then engaged another boy to carry my clothes round the pond, to a place which I pointed out to him, on the other side, I began to cross the pond with my kite, which carried me quite over without the least fatigue, and with the greatest plea- sure imaginable. I was only obliged occasionally to halt a little in my course, and resist its progress, when it appeared that, by following too quick, I lowered the kite too much ; by doing which occasionally I made it rise again. I have never since that time practised this singular mode of swim- ming, though I think it not impossible to cross, in this manner, from Dover to Calais. The packet-boat, however, is still preferable." SWIMMING. 81 PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS. We will now suppose one of onr young friends by the side of a stream, and anxious to take his first lesson in the art of swimming-. If he have any friend or companion with him, who is at once competent and willing to give him the necessary directions, he will do well to follow them ; as example in this, and similar cases, is much better than precept. But if he should not be so fortunate, he can either adopt the excellent method mentioned by Doctor Franklin, as stated in a preceding page, or follow the instructions which we are about to give him on the subject. ENTERING THE WATER. Our young pupil must not, at first, venture into the water in the bold and dashing manner of experienced swimmers. He must wait patiently until he can do so without danger. Let him remember that there has been a time when the best swimmer alive, tottered, step by step, into the water, and sounded tlie depth with one foot before he lifted the other from the bot- tom of the stream. Leander himself, with whose history and fate our juve- nile readers who are tolerably advanced in the classics are, doubtless, ac- quainted, — Leander himself, we repeat, who so often swam across the Hellespont, once paddled in a pond ; and those who, under our directions, make their first attempt to buoy themselves up by their own natural powers, in a shallow brook, may, hereafter, become lusty swimmers enough to per- form the same feat of which Lord Byron was so proud, namely, crossing the Hellespont, as Leander did in the days of " hoar antiquity." We recom- mend our young friend to be patient, as well as persevering, during hid probation in the art of swimming. He must not feel disgusted and disheart- ened, because he seems to make compai-atively but little progress : let mm V 82 SWIMMING. remember that lie is gradually acquiring a new and most important power 5 he is, by degrees, obtaining a mastery over the waters. It was well ob- served by a writer of great discernment, that nothing which is worth learn- ing is compassed Avithout some difficulty and application ; that it is well worth some pains and trouble to render one's self fearless of falling into a river, in which two out of three of our fellow-countrymen would, in a similar situation, without assistance, be drowned, must be admitted ; — let not that trouble, therefore, be grudged. Previously to entering the water, the head and neck should be well wetted ; the pupil should then advance, by a clear shelving bank, in some stream, the depth of which he has ascertained by plumbing or otherwise, until he is breast iiigh ; then let him face about toward the bank, and prepare to make his first essay in tliis art, as directed in the next paragraph. STRIKING OUT. With his face turned toward the bank, as above directed, let the pupil lie down gently on his breast, keep his head and neck upright, his breast advanced, and his back bent inward. Then, let him with- draw his legs from the bottom, and im- mediately strike them out, not downward, but behind him; strike out the arms forward, with the palms closed, and the backs upper- most, a little below the surface of the water ; draw them back again, while he is gathering up his legs for a second attempt, and thus push forward, making use of his hands and feel alternately. It will, perhaps, happen, that he will swallow water in his first efforts, but this should not discourage him : neither should he fancy that, because he makes but little advances, he is not as capable of learning to swim aui others ; the same little mishaps occur to all young beginners. CORKS AND BLADDERS. The use of corks and bladders, for those who are learning to swim, is as strongly recommended by some ^lersons, as it is deprecated by others. That the necessary action with tlie arms and legs may be acquired more easily with than without them, is clear enough ; nevertheless, we ai'e con- SWIMMING. 83 vinced by experience, that it is better to learn how to keep one's self afloat, and to be able to swim ten or a dozen yards, at least, no matter how ckimsily, without them. We have seen several young persons who, after having attained the necessary action, in a very superior manner, by the use of corks or bladders, were totally unable to keep their heads above the water when they relinquished their aid, and were thus left precisely in the same situation in which they would have been, had they not made a single attempt in the art of swimming. We have, it is true, known some trifling exceptions, but tliey have been rare indeed. Corks and bladders, we tliink, may be useful, but tliey should not be commenced with. After the learner has made some progress, and is able to cross a narrow stream, corks and bladders may be occasionally adopted, for a short time, in order that the pupil, by means of their support, may, at his ease, perfect himself in the action necessary for superior swimming, especially with the arms and hands. The action of the legs may be much better acquired by means of the plank, as hereafter directed. The best swimmers we have ever met never made use of corks for this purpose, but still they may be considered of advan- tage in the manner we have stated. If therefore, our reader should think fit to use corks or bladders, let him attend to the fol- lowing hints. Swimming corks are made thus : three or four round slices of cork, increasing progressively in circumference, are run, by a hole made in their centres, on each end of a piece of stout rope, whidi is long enough to reach a(!ross tlie breast, and beyond the arm-pits ; the same number of corks is placed at each side of the rope, and they are kept from slipping off by knots at the two extremities. When bladders are used, they are blown full of air, tied at the necks, and fastened by sti'ings to tlie ends of the rope, in- stead of corks. The manner of using corks or bladders is as follows : — the pupil places his breast across the rope between the corks or bladders as they float ; he raises his legs from the ground, and rests his v4iole weight on the rope, so that the corks or bladders swim between his arms and his sides. In this position he strikes out, and propels himself forward witli his legs and feet* The action of the hands and arms supports a swimmer only, so that he f2 84 ^~" SWIMMING. would advance almost as much when using corks if he kept them still as if he moved them ; nevertheless, their action may be perfected, while the body is supported by the corks, and the young swimmer may acquire that grace- ful, steady, and powerful manner of striking out, which he may, subsequent- ly, by degrees, bring into practice, when he has thrown the corks aside. The writer of these pages has buffeted the billows at a mile or two from land, where the waters have been moved by, what an angler calls, a curling breeze, with a pleasure which those, and those alone, who have revelled in tlie strong bosom of the sea, can imagine ; and what is more difficult, he has swam the still torpid deeps of an inland lake, in a dead calm ; and although, perhaps, not an excellent, has been a very tolerable, swimmer in his time, and this is the manner which he has always followed, and which he recom- mends his young friends to adopt, of strik ing out with the arms. The fingers are to be closed, and the thumbs kept close to the hand, which should be straightened, or rather, a little hollowed in the palm ; the hands are then to be brought together, the two thumbs touching, or palm to palm, it is little matter which, and raised just under the^hin ; they are then to be struck vigorously forward, and when the arms are a* their full stretch, parted, and , carried slowly and regularly, a little below the surface of the water, at the full stretch of the arms, backward, as far as convenience will permit; they should then sink toward the hips ; by a slight pressure on the water, as they descend, the body will be raised, the head may be thrown back, and tlie breath drawn in for the next stroke. When the hands are at, or near, the hips, they should be raised, with the thumbs or edges, but by no means the backs, upward, to the first position ; while doing this, the legs are to be di-awn up as near the body as possible, and the soles of the feet struck out against the water with reasonable force, at the same moment the hands are thrust forward again. This is, in fact, the whole principle of swimming : — tlie arms are first thrust forward, and the body propelled by the force of the soles of the feet, striking against the water ; the air in the lungs is expired or breathed forth during this action ; the hands are then stretched out and carried round so as to lift the body (which wants no support during the time it is propelled by the legs, and the lungs are nearly full of air,) while the legs are drawn up, and the lungs filled with air for a second effort. These very simple motions will seem difficult and complicated to the young swim» mer at first, but by degrees he will learn to perform them with facility. Above all things, let him endeavour to do them deliberately and without being flurried. It is a fact, that a swimmer, who is apparently slow in his action, makes more progress by half than one who is quick. The former is deliberate and vigorous ; the latter hurried, less effectual, and soon becomes fe.tigued. A tyro in the art will make ten efforts during the time occupied by an adept in performing one, and at the same time will scaicely make one half the progress. SWIMMING. 85 We seriously recommend our young readers never to venture out of theif depths with corks, if they cannot swim without them. We once knew a very promising youth who was nearly drowned, when in deep water, by the corks slipping from his breast to below his waist, so that his loins, and, at last, his legs, were above water, while his head was beneath ; he was ex- tricated from this perilous situation by a youth of his own age, who had be- gun to learn the art of swimming, but without corks, on precisely the same day as the lad who was thus in danger of being drowned. It vi^ould be well, if a string were tied by its middle to each end of the rope, close to the largest cork, and one end of it brought over the shoulder at the back, the other in front, and fastened securely together ; this would, at least, prevent the corks from getting out of their proper places. THE PLANK. The plank is useful in a bath, to perfect the young swimmer in the manner of properly throwing out his legs and feet. A piece of plank, about ten or twelve feet in .. .. ._ ^ . length , two inches thick , and a foot and a half, or two feet broad, is the best size. It is to be thrown into the wa- ter, and the pupil, after he has acquired the art of supporting himself for a short time, with>- out any artificial aids, should take hold of one of its ends with both hands ; his body will thus be supported, and he should strike out with his legs in the manner before directed, and endeavour to drive the plank before him, taking care to hold fast and follow it closely, otherwise he may suffer rather an unpleasant feeling by the plank darting forward, and leaving him to sink, unexpectedly, over head and ears in the xvater. Of tlie utility of the plank for the purpose above mentioned, we have frequently been witness, and can, therefore, most confidently recom- mend it to those of our young readers who have an inclination to learn the art of swimming by occasional or preliminary artificial aids. THE ROPE, AND OTHER AIDS. The rope for swimmers is usually fastened to the end of a stout piece of wood, which is fixed into a wall or elsewhere, so as to project over the water ; the rope descends to its surface, or it may be long enough for a foot or sixteen inches of its extremity to sink. The use of the rope is to 86 SWIMMING. support the learner while practising the action with the legs ; but it is very inferior for this purpose to the plank ; as, while the pupil keeps himself up^ by holding tlie rope, his body remains in too perpendicular a position, so that he strikes downward rather than backward. The pupil should ac- custom himself, as much as possible, to keep his legs near the surface ; for those who swim with the lower extremities deep in the water never make such rapid way as others who adopt the proper position, which should be within a few degrees of horizontal. The plank has another advantage over the rope ; it is more steady in tlie water, and offers sufficient resistance to induce, and even to assist, the young beginner, as a point d'appid, to sti-ike out vigorously with his legs. The rope is, in fact, of more utility to those who go into the water to batlie, than those who are learning to swim ; for by means of the support which it affords, the bather may raise his legs from the bottom, and exercise himself most beneficially by tossing, stretching, and turning to and fro in the water ; he may thus luxuriate in a manner which would be en- tirely out of his power with- out the aid of the rope. The aid of the hand is chiefly applied to very young learners, who have the advantage of bathing with a grown-up swimmer .► It is by far superior as an aid, to corks or bladders; because it can be with- drawn gradually, and at last, altogether, so that the learner may feel almost insensible of its departure, and restored in an instant, f exertion renders him too weak to support himself. A tall, strong youth, or a grown-up peison, takes the little learner in his arms, and goes into the water breast-high with him ; he then places the pupil nearly fiat upon the water, sup})Oi ting him by one hand under the breast, and encouraging and directing him to strike out boldly, and, at the same time, correctly. After two or three lessons, on different days, the support of the hand may occa- sionally be, in some degree, withdrawn ; and, in the course of a week or ten days, the little swimmer will, in all probability, have no further need of its service. Oh ! what a happy, triumphant moment is that, when a boy first floats upon the water, independent of all other aids but those which Nature SWIMMING. 87 has provided in his own person. He soon becomes exhausted, but, fi'om tliat time, he feels a confidence in himself, and his progress is generally most rapid. The aid of the rope and hand we do not so much approve as that of the hand alone. A rope is fastened about the learner's body, a grown person holds the other end of it, and supports the pupil while he acquires the mode of striking out. The aid, in this case, cannot be applied with such precision to the proper part, nor afforded and withdrawn with such nicety as where the hand alone is used, SWIMMING OUT OF DEPTH. We will now suppose our pupil to have made some progress in swimming, and to feel anxious to go into deep water. If he feel quite conscious of his own powers, he may venture a few strokes out of his depth, across a stream, for instance, which is overhead only for a few feet in the centre, with shelv- ing banks on each side. Young swimmers sometimes feel alarmed when they are aware that they have ventured where they can no longer put their legs on the ground; this feeling flurries them, they - - -" — ^.^ — ^ ir^^ • t=zrrr= increases, trepidation en- sues, and they have great difficulty in returning to the shore. We earnestly cau- tion our pupil against giv- ing way to anything of this sort. Before he ventures out of his depth, let him calculate his own powers, and attempt such a dis- tance only as is in proportion with them. Is he able to swim half-a-dozen yards without dropping his feet to the ground '? If so, he may confidently cross a deep place which is only half that breadth. Let him not imagine that he is not quite as capable of swimming in deep as in shallow water ; the contrary is the fact, for the deeper the water, the better he can swim. Above all things, let him not- hurry himself, but strike slowly and evenly, and keep good time with the motions of his arms, his legs, and his lungs. Boys frequently fall into an error, which is invariably attended with un- pleasant consequences, when first attempting to swim, as well as when they begin to venture out of depth, by losing their presence of mind, and breath- ing at the wrong time. They draw breath at the moment when tliey are striking out with their legs, instead of at the time their body is elevated by the hands, when at the full stretch of the arm backward, or in descending toward the hips. During this action of the legs, the head partially sinks, tiie face is driven against the water, and the mouth thus becomes filled, 88 SWIMMING. which creates a very unpleasant nausea and momentary suffocation. When the hands are in the position above mentioned, the' progress of the body for- ward ceases, the face is no longer driven against the water, but is elevated above the surface ; then is the time to draw in the breath, which should be expired while the body at the next stroke is sent forward by tlie action of the legs. During this time, if your mouth be even with or partly under the sur- face, no water can enter it, the air which you are driving between your lips effectually preventing it. " Keep time," is one of the swimmer's golden rules. Unless the pupil pay attention to it, he will make but little progress, and must inevitably, now and then, take in a mouthful of the stream in which he is swimming. To those who have never swam " in the silver flood," a circumstance of this sort will be thought very lightly of indeed ; but we speak the general feelings of swimmers, when we say, that the same person who would relish a draught from a stream, when sitting dressed upon its bank, would feel the greatest disgust at taking a mouthful of the same water, when swimming in it. After tlie pupil has ventured out of his depth, and feels satisfied with the success of his attempt, he grows emboldened, and increases his dis- tances daily. TO TREAD WATER. All that is necessary for treading water, is to let your legs drop in the water until you are upright; then keep yourself afloat in that position by treading downward with your feet, alternately ; and, if necessary, paddling with your palms at your hips. TO SV^^IM ON THE SIDE. Lower your left side, and at the same time elevate your right ; strike forward with your left hand, and sidevvay with your rigiit; the back of the lat|4>r being in front instead of upward, the thumb side of the hand down- ward, so as to 5erve precisely as an oar. You will thus, by giving yoor l)ody an additional impetus, advance much more speedily than in the com- mon way ; it will also relieve you considerably when you feel tired of striking out forward. You may also turn on the right side, strike out with the right hand, and use the left as an oar. In either case, the action of the legs is the same as usual. TO SWIM LIKE A DOG. Strike with each hand and foot alternately; that is, begin with the right hand and foot, draw the hand toward the chin, and (he foot toward the body at the same time ; and then simultaneously kick backward witJi the foot, and strike out in a right line with the hand ; then do the like with the left hand and fwjt, and so on. The hands are not to bo carried backward as in tlie ordinary way of swimming, but merely thrust out with the palms down- SWIMMING. 89 ward, a little way below the surface, in front only ; as they are brought back to the breast again, they should be rather hollowed, and the water grasped or pulled toward the swimmer. Much progress cannot be made by swim- ming in this manner, but still it is worth learning, as every change of method, in going a distance, recruits the swimmer's strengtli. THE PORPOISE. This is a very pleasant and most advantageous change of action. The right arm is lifted entirely out of the water, the shoulder thiust forward, and the swimmer, while striking out with his legs, reaches forward with his hand, as far as possible. At the utmost stretch of the arm the hand falls, a little hollowed, into the water, which it grasps or pulls toward the swimmer in its return to the body, in a transverse direction, toward the other armpit. While it is passing through the water in this manner, the legs are drawn up for another effort, and the left arm and shoulder elevated and thrust forward as above directed for the right. This is the greatest advancing relief in swimming, except swinuning on the back ; floating on the back rests tlie whole of the body as well as the limbs, but while float- ing, no progress is made ; whereas, during the time a person swims in the manner above directed, he will not only relieve himself considerably, but also make as great an advance in the water, as if he were proceeding in the ordinary way. TO SWIM AND FLOAT ON THE BACK. To do this, you must turn yourself on your back as gently as possible, elevate your breast above the surface, put your head back, so that your eyes, nose, mouth and chin only are above water. By keeping in this position with the legs and arms extended, and pad- dling the hands gently by the side of the hips, you will float. If you wish to swim, you must strike out with the legs, taking care not to lift your knees too high, nor sink your hips and sides too low ; but keeping in as straight a line as possible. You may lay the arms across the breast ; keep them motionless at the sides ; or, if you wish, strike out with them to help you on. To swim with your feet fonvard, while on your back, lift up your legs one after another, let them fall into the water, and draw them back with all the force you can, toward your hams j thus you will swim feet forward, and re* turn to the place whence you came. 90 SWIMMING. To turn from yourbreast to your back, raise your legs forward, and throw your Iiead backward, until your body is in a right position : to change from the back to the breast, drop your legs, and throw your body forward on your breast. TO TURN WHEN SWIMMING. % If you wish to turn while on your back, keep one leg still, and embrace the water beside you with the other ; thus, you will find yourself turn to that side on which your leg by its motion embraces the water, and you will turn either to the right or left, according to which leg you use in this manner. To turn while swimming in the ordinary way requires no further effort tlian to incline yom- head and body to the side you would turn to ; and, at the same time, move and turn yom* legs, in the same manner as you would do, to tuin the same way on land. TO SHOW THE FEET. While on your back, bend the small of it downward; support yourself by moving your hands to and fro just above your breast, and stretch your feet above the water. TO BEAT THE WATER, &C. When swimming on your back, lift your legs out of the water one after another, and strike the water with them alternately. Those who are most expert at this, bring their chins toward their breasts at each stroke of the legs. There is a variety of similar feats performed by expert swimmers, such as treading water with both hands raised over the head; floating on the back with the arms above the sm-face ; taking the left leg in the right hand, out of the water, when swimming on the back ; pulling the right heel by the right hand, toward the back, when swimming in the common way; throwing somersets in the water, backward and forward, &c. &c., for which no particular directions are necessary, as the pupil, when he has grown expert in the various modes of swimming which we have described, will be able to do these things, and any tricks which his fancy may suggest, without difficulty. Diving, by practice, may be carried to astonishing perfection. Pearls are brought up from the bottom of the sea by divers who are trained to remain a considerable time under water. In ancient times, divers were employed in war to destroy the ships of (he enemy ; and many instances are related, by respectable authors, of men diving after, and fetching up nails and pieces of SWIMMING. 91 money thrown into the sea, and even overtaking the nail or coin before it lias reached the bottom. Diving may be performed from the surface of the water when swim- ming, by merely tiufning the head downward, and striking upward with the legs. It is, howev- er, much better to leap in, with the hands closeii^ above the head, and head foremost, from a pier, boat or raised bank. By merely strik- ing with the feet, and keeping his head toward the bottom, the diver may drive himself a con- siderable distance be- neath the surface. If he reach the bottom, he has only to turn his head upward, spring from the ground with his feet, and he will soon arrive at the surface. If desirous of making a more rapid ascent, he should strike downward with his feet, pull- ing the water above him toward his head with one hand, and striking it downward by his side with the other. In diving, the eyes should be open ; you must, therefore, take care that you do not close them, as they reach the surface, when you commence your descent. It is almost needless to add, tliat the breath should be held, the whole time that you are under water. SWIMMING UNDER WATER. Swimming between top and bottom may be accomplished by the ordinary stroke, if you take care to keep your head a little downward, and strike a little higher with your feet than when swimming on the surface ; or, you may turn your thumbs downward, and perform the stroke with the hands in that position, instead of keeping them flat. THE CRAMP. Our practical directions in the art of swimming would be incomplete were we to omit saying a fcAV words as to the cramp. Those who are at all liable to it, ought, perhaps, to abandon all idea of swimming ; men of the greatest skill, as swimmers, and of presence of mind in danger, having fal- len victims to this, which has been well enough called, "the bathers' bane." The cramp may, however, seize a person for the first time in his life, when at a distance from land ; we have frequently known this to occur ; and in every case that has come within our personal knowledge, with one excej)- 92 SWIMMING. tion, the sufferer has saved himself by acting as we are about to advise oup yoiuig reader, if ever he should be seized with this terrible contraction. Be assured that there is no danger, if yoti are only a tolerable swimmer, and do not flurry yourself. The moment you feel the cramp in your leg or foot, strike out the limb with all your strength, thrusting the heel out, and drawing the toes upward as forcibly as possible, totally regardless of the mo- mentary pain it may occasion. If two or three efforts of this nature do not succeed, throw yourself on your back, and endeavour to keep yourself afloat with your hands until assistance reach you ; or, if there be no hope of that, try to paddle ashore with your palms. Should you be imable to float on your back, put yourself in the position directed for treading water, and you may keep your head above the surface by merely striking the water down- ward with your hands at your hips, without any assistance from your legs. In case you have the cramp in both legs, you may also endeavour to make some progress in this manner, should no help be at ha ad. If you have one leg only attacked, you may drive yourself forward vith the other. In order to endow you with confidence in a moment of danger from an attack of the cramp, occasionally try to swim with one leg, or a leg and a hand, or tlie two hands only, and you will find that it is by no means difficult. We feel rather astonished that none of the treatises on swimming, which have fallen into our hands, recommend the practice of boys attempt- ing to carry one another in the water ; when both can swim, this is an excel- lent and safe method of learning how to support another who is in danger on account of cramp, weakness, ignorance of swimming, or other caus- es. In the annexed sketch, the foremost fig- ure is in the act of swim- ming, and carrying with him another person, who is borne up, simply by applying one hand to each hip of his compan- ion. A person, it is said, had the pleasure of saving a friend from drown- ing, by these means : it is attended, however, with considerable risk, espe- cially "if the person you venture to rescue should lose his presence of mind, which is too often the case with those who are in danger of being drowned. It will surprise any swimmei), who first tries the experiment, to find with SWIMMING. 93 what ease he can support a person attached to him in this manner. The person, who rests upon the hips of his companion, is represented as passive, as he is supposed to be unable to swim ; but two swimmers, performing this experiment, may strike out together with their legs. TIMES AND PLACES FOR SWIMMING. Of all places to swim in, the sea is best, running waters next, and ponds the worst. The best time for swimming is in the months of May, June, July, and August. There are, however, some years, wherein it is not healthy to go into the v/ater during these months ; as when the weather, and conse- quently the water, is colder than ordinary for the season. One ought not to go into the water when it rains ; for the rain, if it last any time, chills the water, and endangers catching cold, by wetting one's clothes. The night is also improper for this exercise. Beware of weeds, as although you have company with you, yet, you may be lost beyond the possibility of help, if your feet get entangled among them. The bottom ought to be of gravel, or smooth stones, so that you may stand thereon as firmly as on the earth, and be neither in danger of sinking in the mud, nor wounding the feet : care ought also to be taken that it be even, and without holes; and, above all, that you know the ^epth, especially when you begin to learn ; for as it is then easy to tire one's self when struggling and making the first efforts, you should, therefore, be sure that the bottom is not out of your depth, when you have occasion to rest, and take breath. It is impossible to be too cautious when you are alone, or have no one in company that knows the pond or stream. When you have found out a place fit to learn in, do not venture any^ where else till you are considerably advanced in the art; and, till then, it will be the best way to exercise with some one who is already expert in swimming. CONCLUDING REMARKS. In entering the water, the head should be wetted first, either by plunging in head foremost, or pouring water on it. Before you adopt the first method, ascertain if the water be sufficiently deep to allow you to dive without touching the bottom, otherwise you may injure yourself against it. Do not remain in the water too long, but come out as soon as you feel tired, chilly or numbed. It is a good plan to make a plunge^ so as to wet the body all over, to return to shore immediately, and an instant afterward enter the water at your ease, and take your lesson or your swim. You do not feel so chilly if you do this, as if you dash in and swim off at once. Never be alarm- ed at having a few mouthfuls of water, when learning to swim ; be not dis- couraged at difficulties, but bear in mind, that millions have done what you are attempting to do. Beware of banks which have holes in them, and ven- tare out of your depth only by degrees. 94 SWIMMING. If one of your companions be in danger of drowning, be sure that, in en- deavouring to save him, yon make your approaches in such a manner, as will prevent him from grappling with you ; if he once get a hold of your limbs, you both will almost inevita])]y be lost. Although it has been said, that the weight of one's clothes will make but little difference in the Avater, yet we strongly advise the young swimmer, when he has become expert in tlie art, and confident of his own prowess, to swim occasionally w^ith his clothes on ; for this purpose, of course he need only use an old worn-out suit : by so doing, he will be satisfied that dress does not make so much difference as he might imagine, and thus he will have more courage and presence of mind if he should at any time afterward fall ^ into the water, or leap in to save another. ARITHMETICAL AMUSEMENTS. Cocker and Dilworth, Walsingame and Vyse, In their own sphere, by Bidder were outshone : They, or with pen or pencil, problems solved, — He, with no aid but wond'rous memory ; They, when of years mature, acquired their fame, — . He, " lisped in numbers, for the numbers came." The delightful and valuable science of Arithmetic first arrived at any degree of perfection in Europe, among the Greeks, who made use of the letters of the alphabet to express their numbers. A similar mode was followed by the Romans, who, besides characters for each rank of classes, introduced others for five, fifty, and five hundred, which are still used for chapters of books, and some other purposes. The common arithmetic, in which the ten Arabic figures, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0, are used, was un- known to the Greeks and Romans, and came into Europe, by way of Spain^ from the Arabians, who are said to have received it from the Indians. It is supposed to have taken its origin from the ten fingers of the hand, which were made use of in computations, before arithmetic was brought into an art. The Indiana are very expert at computing without pen or ink ; and the 96 ARITHMETICAL AMUSEMENTS. natives of Peru, ia Soutli America, who do all by the arrangement of grains of maize, excel the European, with the aid of all his rules and implements for writing. But the dexterity of those people cannot for a moment be com- pared with the feats of mental arithmetic exhibited by George Bidder, the youth, whose portrait stands at the head of this article. This astonish- ing boy, at a very early age, and without education, was capable of solving very intricate questions in arithmetic, without the use of pen, pencil, or writing implements of any sort, but entirely in his own mind, as correctly and quickly as tlie most expert person could in the common way. We have, personally, witnessed his ability in this respect, and among many other complicated questions, which were put to him, we recollect the following :— Sup{)osing the sim to be 95 millions of miles from the earth, and that it were possible for an insect, whose pace should be 7g inches per minute, to travel that pace how long would it take to reach the sun 1 This he mentally solved in a very short time. Several other mental arithmeticians have appeared within these fevy years; among the rest, Jedidiah Buxton, an illiterate peasant, who was never taught to read or write, appears to have been eminent. Several of the questions answered by this man have been recorded; among others, we recollect the following : — How many times will a coach-wheel, whose circumference is 6 yards, turn in going 204 miles '? In thirteen minutes, Buxton answered, — 59,840 times. Then he was asked : — Antl, supposing sound travels at the rate of 1142 feet per second, how long will it be before tile report of a cannon is heard 5 miles off '] His answer was, — 23 seconds, 7 tiiirds, and 46 remain. On being required to multiply 456 by 378, he gave the product in a very short time ; and, when requested to work the question audibly, so that his method might be known, he multiplied 456 first by 5, which produced 2280 ; this he again multiplied by 20, and found the product 45,600, which was the multiplicand multiplied by 100 ; this product he again multipled by 3, which produced 136,800, the product of the multiplicand by 300 ; it remained, therefore, to multiply this by 78, which he effected by multiplymg 2280, (or the product of the multiplicand multiplied by 5,) by 15, as 5 times 15 are 75. This product, being 34,200, he added to 136,800, which was the multiplicand multiplied by 300, and this produced 171,000 which was 375 times 456. To complete his operation, therefore, he multiplied 456 by 3, which produced 1368, and having added this number to 171 ,000, he found the product of 456 multiplied by 378, to be 172,368. By this it appears, that he was so little acquainted with the common rules, as to multiply 456 first by 5, and the product by 20, to find what sum it would produce, multiplied by 100 ; whereas, had he added two ciphers to the. figures, he would have obtained the product at once. ARITHMETICAL AMUSEMENTS 97 TO TELL ANY NUBIBER THOUGHT OF. Desire any person to think of a number, say a certain number of shillings ; tell him to borrow that sum of some one in the company, and add the number borrowed to the amount thouglit of. It will here be pro- per to name the person who lends him the shillings, and to beg the one, who makes the calculation, to do it with great care, as he may readily fall into an error, especially the first time. Then, say to the person, — * I do not lend you, but give you 10, add them to the former sum.' Continue in this manner : — ' Give the half to the poor, and retain in your memory the other half.' Then add : — ' Return to the gentleman, or lady, what you borrowed, and remember that the sum lent you, was exactly equal to the number thought of.' Ask the person if he knows exactly what remains ; he will answer ' Yes.' You must then say, — ' And I know also the number tliat remains ; it is equal to what I am going to conceal in my hand.' Put into one of your hands 5 pieces of money, and desire the person to tell how many you have got He will answer 5; upon which, open your hand, and show him the 5 pieces. You may then say, — ' 1 well knew tliat your result was 5 ; but if you had thought of a very large number, for example, two or three millions, the result would have been much greater, but my hand would not have held a number of pieces e{|ual to the remainder.' The person then supposing that the result of the cal- culation must be different, according to the difference of the number thought of, will imagine that it is necessary to know the last number in order to guess tlie result : but this idea is false ; for, in the case which we have here sup- posed, whatever be the number thought of, the remainder must always be 5. The reason of this is as follows : — ^I'he sum, the half of which is given to the poor, is nothing else than twice the number thought of, plus 10 ; and when the poor have received their part, there remains only the number thought of, plus 5 ; but the number thought of is cut off when tlie sum bor- rowed is returned, and, consequently, there remain only 5. It may be hence seen, that the result may be easily known, since it will be the half of the number given in the third part of the operation ; for example, whatever be the number thought of, the remainder will be 86, or 25 according as 72 or 50 have been given. If this trick be per- formed several times successively, the number given in the third part of the operation must be always different ; for if the result were several times the same, the deception might be discovered. When the five first parts of the calculation for obtaining a result are finished, it will be best not to name it at first, but to continue the operation, to render it more complex, by say- ing, for example : — ' Double the remainder, deduct two, add three, take the fourth part,' &c.; and the different steps of tlie calculation may be kept in 98 ARITHMETICAL AMUSEMENTS. mind, in order to know how much the first result has been increased or diminished. This irregular process never fails to confound those who at- tempt to follow it. A SECOND METHOD. *^ Bid the person take 1 from the number thought of, and then double the remainder ; desire him to take 1 from this double, and to add to it the num- ber thought of; in the last place, ask him the number arising from this ad- dition, and, if you add 3 to it, the third of the sum will be the number thought of. The application of this rule is so easy, that it is needless to illustrate it by an example. A THIRD METHOD. Desire tlie person to add 1 to the triple of the number thought of, and to multiply the sum by 3 ; then bid him add to this product the number thought of, and the result will be a sum, from which if 3 be subtracted, the remainder will be ten times of the number required ; and if the cipher on the right be cut off from the remainder, the other figure will indicate the number sought. Example : — Let tue number thought of be 6, the triple of which is 18 5 and if 1 be added, it makes 19 ; the triple of this last number is 57, and if 6 be added, it makes 63, from which if 3 be subtracted, the remainder will be 60 : now, if the cipher on the right be cut off, the remaining figure, 6, will be the number required. A FOURTH METHOD. Bid the person multiply the number thought of by itself; then desire him to add 1 to the number thought of, and to multiply it also by itself; in the last place, ask him to tell the difference of these two products, which will certainly be an odd number, and the least half of it will be the number required. Let the number thought of, for example, be 10 ; which, multiplied by itself, gives 100 ; in the next place, 10 increased by 1 is 11, which, multi- plied by itself, makes 121 ; and the difference of these two squares is 21, the least half of which, being 10, is the number thought of. This operation miglit be varied by desiring the person to multiply the second number by itself, after it has been diminished by 1. In this case* the number thought of will be equal to the greater half of the difference of the two squares. Thus, in the preceding example, the square of the number thought of is 100, and that of the same number, less 1, is 81 ; the difference of these is 19 ; the greater half of which, or 10, is the number thought of. ARITHMETICAL AMUSEMENTS 99 TO TELL TWO OR MORE NUMBERS THOUGHT OF. If one or more of the numbers thought of be greater than 9, we must dis- tinguish two cases ; that in which the number of the numbers thought of is odd, and that in which it is even. In the first case, ask the sum of tlie first and second ; of the second and third; the third and fourth ; and so on to the last ; and tlien the sum of the first and the last. Having written down all these sums in order, add to- gether all those, the places of which are odd, as the first, the third, the fifth, &c. ; make another sum of all those, the places of which are even, as tlie second, the fourth, the sixth, &c. ; subtract this sum from the former, and tile remainder will be the double of the first number. Let us suppose, f«r example, that the five following numbers are thought of, 3, 7, 13, 17, 20, which when added two and two as above, give 10, 20, 30, 37, 23 : the sum of the first, third, and fifth is 63, and that of the second and fourth is 57 ; if 57 be subtracted from 63, the remainder, 6, will be the double of the first number, 3. Now, if 3 be taken from 10, the first of the sums, the remainder, 7, will be the second number ; and by proceeding in this manner, we may find all the rest. In the second case, that is to say, if the number of the numbers thought of be even, you must ask and write down, as above, the sum of the first and the second ; that of the second and third; and so on, as before : but instead of the sum of the first and the last, you must take that of the second and last ; then add together those which stand in the even places, and form them into a new sum apart ; add also those in the odd places, the first excepted, and subtract this sum from the former, the remainder will be the double of the second number ; and if the second number, thus found, be subtracted from tlie sum of the first and second, you will have the first number ; if it be taken from that of the second and third, it will give the third ; and so of the rest. Let the numbers thought of be, for example, 3, 7, 13, 17 : the sums formed as above are 10, 20, 30, 24; the sum of the second and fourth is 44, from which if 30, the third, be subtracted, the remainder will be 14, the double of 7, the second number. The first, therefore, is 3, the third 13, and the fourth 17. When each of the numbers thought of does not exceed 9, they may be easily found in the following manner : — Having made the person add 1 to the double of the first number thought of, desire him to multiply the whole by 5, and to add to the product the second number. If there be a third, make him double this first sum, and add 1 to it; after which, desire him to multiply the new sum by 5, and to add to it the third number. If there be a fourtli, proceed in the same manner, desiring him to double the preceding siun; to add to it 1; to multiply by 6; to add the fourtli number ; and so on. G 2 100 ARITHMETICAL AMUSEMENTS. Then, ask the number arising from the addition of the last number thouglit of, and if there were two numbers, subtract 5 from it ; if there were three, 55 ; if there were foiu-, 555 ; and so on ; for the remainder will be composed of figures, of which the first on the left will be the first number thought of, the next the second, and so on. Suppose the number thought of to be 3, 4, 6; by adding 1 to 6, the double of the first, we shall have 7, which, being multiplied by 5, will give 35; if 4, the second number thought of, be then added, we shall have 39, which doubled, gives 78 ; and, if we add 1, and multiply 79, the sum, by 5, the result will be 395. In tlie last place, if we add 6, the number thought of, the sum will be 401 ; and if 55 be deducted froiii it, we shall have, for remain- der, 346, the figures of which, 3, 4, 6, indicate in order the three numbers thought of. THE MONEY GAME. A person having in one hand a piece of gold, and in the other a piece of silver, you may tell in which hand he has the gold, and in which the silver, by the following method : — Some value, represented by an even number, such as 8, must be assigned to the gold, and a value represented by an odd number, such as 3, must be assigned to the silver ; after which, desire the person to multiply the number in the right hand by any even number what- ever, such as 2 ; and that in the left by an odd number, as 3 ; then bid him add together the two products, and if the whole sum be odd, the gold will be in the right hand, and the silver in the left ; if the sum be even, the contrary will be the case. To conceal the artifice better, it will be sufficient to ask whether the sum of the two products can be halved witliout a remainder ; for in that case the total will be even, and in the contrary case odd. It may be readily seen, that the pieces, instead of being in the two handa of the same person, may be supposed to be in the hands of two persons, one of whom has the even number, or piece of gold, and the other ,the odd number, or piece of silver. The same operations may then be performed in regard to tliese two persons, as are performed in regard to the two hands of the same person, calling the one privately the right and the other tlie left. THE GAME OF THE RING. This game is an application of one of the methods employed to tell several numbers thought of, and ought to be performed in a company not exceeding nine, in order that it may be less complex. Desire any one of the company to take a ring, and put it on any joint of whatever finger he may think pro- per. The question then is, to tell what person has the ring, and on what hand, what finger, and on what joint. ARITHMETICAL AMUSEMENTS. 101 For this purpose, you must call the first person 1, the second 2, the third 8, and so on. You must also denote the ten fingers of the two hands, by the following numbers of the natural progression, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, &c. beginning at the thumb of the right hand, and ending at that of the left, that by this order of the number of the finger may, at the same time, indicate tiie hand. In the last place, the joints must be denoted by 1, 2, 3, beginning at the points of the fingers. To render the solution of this problem more explicit, let us suppose that the fooi'th person in the company has the ring on the sixth finger, that is to say, on the little finger of tlie left hand, and on the second joint of that finger. Desire some one to double the number expressing the person, which, ia this case, will give 8; bid him add 5 to this double, and multiply the sum by 5, which will make 65; then tell hnn to add to this product the number denoting the finger, that is to say, 6, by which means you will have 71 ; and, in the last place, desire him to multiply the last number by 10, and to add to the product the nu!n])er of the joint, 2; the last result will be 712; if from diis number you deduct 250, the remainder will be 462; the first figure of whicli, on the left, will denote the person ; the next, the finger, and consequently, the hand ; and the last, the joint. It must here be observed, that when the last result contains a cipher, which would have happened in the present example, had the number of the finger been 10, you must privately subtract from the figui*e preceding the cipher, and assign the value of 10 to the cipher itself. THE GAME OF THE BAG. To let a person select several numbers out of a bag, and to tell him the number which shall exactly divide the sum of those he has chosen : — Pro- vide a small bag, divided into two parts, into one of which put several tickets, numbered 6, 9, 15, 36, 63, 120, 213, 309, &c. ; and in the other part pHt as many other tickets, marked No. 3 only. Draw a handful of tickets from the first })art, and, after showing them to the company, put them into tlie bag again, and, having opened it a second time, desire any one to take out as many tickets as he thinks proper ; when he has done that, you open privately the other part of the bag, and tell him to take out of it one ticket only. You may safely pronounce that the ticket shall contain the number by which the amount of the other numbers is divisible ; for, as each of these numbers can be multiplied by 3, their sum total must, evidently, be divisible by that number. An ingenious mind may easily diversify this exercise, by marking the tickets in one part of the bag, with any numbers that are divisible by 9 only, the properties of both 9 and 3 being the same; imd it should never be exhibited to the same company twice without being varied. 102 ARITHMETICAL AMUSEMENTS. 1 + CO lb §^ SQ r CO II t 05 TP CO + II ARITHMETICAL AMUSEMENTS. 103 THE NUMBER NINE. {See Opposite page.) The following discovery of remarkable properties of the number 9 was accidentally made, more than forty years since, though, we believe, it is not generally known : — The component figures of the product made by the multiplication of every digit into the number 9, when added together, make nine. llie order of these component figiu-es is reversed, after the said number has been multiplied by 5. The component figures of the amount of the multipliers, {viz. 45) when added together, make nine. The amount of the several products, or multiples of 9, {viz. 405) when divided by 9, gives, for a quotient, 45; that is, 4-|-5=NiNE. The amount of the first product, {viz. 9) when added to the other product, whose respective component figures make 9, is 81 ', which is the square of NINE. The said number 81, when added to the above-mentioned amount of the several products, or multiples of 9 {viz. 405) makes 486 ; which, if divided by 9, gives, for a quotient, 54 : that is, 5-J-4=nine. It is also observable, that the number of changes that may be rung on nine bells, is 362,880 ; which figures, added together, make 27 ; that is, 2-f-7=NlNE. And the quotient of 362,880, divided by 9, will be 40,320; that is 4^0+3+2-fO=N I N E . To add a figure to any given number, which shall render it divisible by Nine : — Add the figures together in your mind, which compose the number named ; and the figure which must be added to the sum produced, in order to render it divisible by 9, is the one required. Thus — ; Suppose the given number to be 7521 : — Add those together, and 15 will be produced; now 15 requires 3 to ren- der it divisible by 9 ; and that number, 3, being added to 7521, causes the same divisibility : — 7521 9)7524(836 This exercise may be diversified by your specifying, before the sum is named, the particular place where the figure shall be inserted, to make the number divisible by 9 ; for it is exactly the same thing, whether tlie figure be put at the head of the number, or between any two of its digits. 104 ARITHMETICAL AMUSEMENTS THE CERTAIN GAME. Two persons agree to take, alternately, numbers less than a given num- ber, for example, 11, and to add them together till one of them has reached a certain sum, such as 100. By what means can one of them infallibly attain to tliat number before the other 1 The whole artifice in this, consists in immediately making choice of tlie numbers, 1,12, 23, 34, and so on, or of a series which continually increases by 11, up to 100. Let us suppose, that the first person, who knows the game, makes choice of 1 ; it is evident that his adversary, as he must count less than 11, can, at most, reach 11, by adding 10 to it. The first will then take 1, which will make 12: and whatever number the second may add, the first will certainly win, provided he continually add the number which forms the complement of that of his adversary, to 11 ; that is to say, if the latter take 8, he must take 3; if 9, he must take 2; and so on. By following this method, he will infallibly attain to 89; and it will then be impossible for the second to prevent him from getting first to 100 ; for whatever number the second takes, he can attain only to 99 ; after which the first may say — • " and 1 makes 100." If the second take 1 afjter 89, it would make 90, and his adversary would finish by saying — " and 10 make 100." Between two persons who aie equally accjuainted with the game, he who begins must necessarily win. MAGICAL CENTURY. If the number 11 be multiplied by any one of the nine digits, the two figures of the product will always be alike, as appears in the following example : — 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 123456789 11 22 33 44 55 66 77 88 99 Now, if another person and yourself have fifty counters apiece, and agree never to stake more than ten at a time, you may tell him, that if he permit you to stake first, you will always complete the even century before him. In order to succeed, you must first stake l,ancl remembering the order of the above series, constantly add to what he stakes as many as will make one more than the numbers 11, 22, 33, &c. of which it is composed, till you coine to 89 ; after which your opponent cannot possibly reach the even century himself, or prevent you from reaching it. ARITHMETICAL AMUSEMENTS. 105 If your opponent have no knowledge of numbers, you may stake any other number first, under 10, provided you subsequently take care to secure one of the last terms, 56, 67, 78, &c. ; or you may even let him stake first, if you take care afterw^ard to secure one of these numbers. This exercise may be performed with other numbers ; but, in order to succeed, you must divide tlie number to be attained, by a nmnber which is a unit greater than what you can stake each time ; and the remainder will then be the number you must first stake. Suppose, for example, the number to be attained be 52, (making use of a pack of cards instead of counters,) and that you are never to add more than 6 ; then, dividing 52 by 7, the remainder, which is 3, will be the number which you must first stake ; and whatever your opponent stakes, you must add as much to it as will make it equal to 7, the number by which you divided, and so in continuation. THE CANCELLED FIGURE GUESSED. To tell the figure a person has struck out of the sum of two given numbers : — Arbitrarily command those numbers only, that are divisible by 9; such, for instance, as 36, 63, 81, 117, 126, 162, 261, 360, 315, and 432. Then let a person choose any two of these numbers ; and, after adding them together in his mind, strike out from the sum any one of the figures he pleases. After he has so done, desire him to tell you tlie sum of the remaining figures ; and it follows, that the number which you are obliged to add to this amount, in order to make it 9 or 18, is the one he struck out. Thus :— . Suppose he chooses the numbers 162 and 261, making altogether 423, and that he strike out the centre figure, the two other figures will, added together, make 7, which, to make 9, requires 2, the number struck out. THE DICE GUESSED UNSEEN. A pair of dice being throw^n, to find the number of points on each die without seeing them : — Tell the person, who cast the dice, to double the number of points upon one of them, and add 5 to it ; then, to multi})ly the sum produced by 5, and to add to the product the number of points upon the other die. This being done, desire him to tell you the amount, and, having thrown out 25, the remainder will be a number consisting of two figures, the first of which, to the left, is the number of points on the first die, and the second figure to the right, the number on the other. Thus : — Suppose the number of points of the first die which comes up, to be 2, suid that of the other 3 ; then, if to 4, tlie double of tlie points of the fii'st. 106 ARITHMETICAL AMUSEMENTS. there be added 5, and the sum produced^ 9, be mukiplied by 5, the product will be 45 ; to which, if 3, the number of points on the other- die, be added, 48 will be produced, from which, if 25 be subtracted, 23 will remain ; the first figure of which is 2, the number of points on the first die, and the second figure 3, the number on the other, THE SOVEREIGN AND THE SAGE. A sovereign being desirous to confer a liberal reward on one of his courtiers, who had performed some very important service, desired him to ask whatever he thought proper, assuring him it should be granted. The courtier, who was well acquainted with the science of numbers, only re- quested that the monarch would give him a quantity of wheat equal to that which would arise from one grain doubled sixty-three times successively The value of the reward was immense ,• for it will be found, by calcu- lation, that the sixty-fourth term of the double progression divided by 1 : 2 : 4 : 8 : 16 : 32 : &c, is 9223372036854775808. But the sum of all the terms of a double progression, beginning with 1, may be obtained by doubling tlie last term, and subtracting from it 1. The* number of the grains of wheat, therefore, in the present case, will be 18446744073709551615. Now, if a pint contain 9216 grains of wheat, a gallon will contain 73728 ; and, as eight gallons make one bushel, if we divide the above result by eight times 73728, we shall have 31274997411295 for the number of the bushels of wheat equal to the above number of grains : a quantity greater than what the whole surface of the earth could produce in several years, and which, in value, would exceed all the riches, perhaps, on the globe. THE horse-dealer's BARGAIN. A gentleman, taking a fancy to a horse, which a horse-dealer wished to dispose of at as high a price as he could ; the latter, to induce the gentleman to become a purchaser, offered to let him have the horse for the value of the twenty-fourth nail in his shoes, reckoning one farthing for the first nail, two for the second, four for the third, and so on to the twenty -fomth. The gen- tleman, thinking he should have a good bargain, accepted tlie offer ; the price of the horse was, therefore, necessarily great. By calculating as before, the twenty-fourth term of the progression, 1 : 2 : 4 : 8 : &c., will be found to be 8388608, equal to the number of farthings the purchaser gave for the horse ; the price, therefore, amounted to £8738. 2s. 8d. the DINNER PARTY. A club of seven persons agreed to dine together every day successively, as long as they could sit down to table differently arranged. How many ARITHMETICAL AMUSEMENTS. 107 dinners would be necessary for that purpose 1 It may be easily found, by the rules already given, that the club must dine together 5040 times, before tliey would exhaust all the arrangements possible, which would require above thirteen years. COMBINATIONS OF AN ANAGRAM. If any word be proposed, for instance, AMOR, and it be required to know how many different words could be formed of these four letters, which will give all the possible anagrams of that word, we shall find by multiply- ing together 1, 2, 3, and 4, that they are in number, 24, as represented m the following table : — AMOR MORA ORAM RAMO AMRO MOAR ORMA RAOM AOMR MROA OARM RMAO AORM MRAO OAMR RMOA ARMO MAOR OMRA ROAM AROxM MARO OMAR ROMA THE BASKET AND THE STONES. If a hundred stones be placed in a straight line, at the distance of a yard from each other, the first being at the same distance from a basket, how many yards must the person walk who engages to pick them up, one by one, and put them into the basket 1 It is evident tliat, to pick up the first stone^ and put it into the basket, the person must walk two yards ; for the second, he must walk four ; for the third, six ; and so on, increasing by two, to tlie hundredth. Tiie number of yards, therefore, which the person must walk, will be equal to the sum of the progression, 2, 4, 6, &c. the last term of which is 20i), (22.) But the sum of the progression is equal to 202, the sum of the two extremes, multiplied by 50, or half the number of terms : that is to Bay, 10,100 yards, which makes more than 5^ miles. THE ARITHMETICAL MOUSETRAP. One of the best, and most simple mousetraps in use, may be con- structed in the following manner : — Get a slip of smooth board, about the eighth of an inch thick, a quarter of an inch broad, and of a sufficient length to cut out the following parts of the trap. First, an upright piece, tliree or four inches high, which must be square at the bottom, and a small piece be cut off the top to fit the notch in No. 2, (see No. 1 in the margin.) The second piece must be of the same length as the fiist, with a 108 ARITHMETICAL AMUSEMENTS. notch cut across nearly at the top of it, to fit the top of No. 1, and the other end of it trimmed to catch the notch in No. 3, (see No. 2.) The third piece should be twice as long as either of the others ; a notch, similar to that in No. 2, must be cut i^ one end of it, to catch the lower end of No. 2. Having proceeded thus far, you must put the pieces togetlier, in order to finish it, by r adding another notch in No. 3, the ex- act situation of which you will discover as follows : — Place No. 1, as it is in the cut, then put the notch of No. 2 on rv ^ the thinned top of No. 1 ; keep it in tlie ^ same inclination as in the cut; then get a flat piece of wood, or slate, one end of which must rest on the ground, and the centre of the edge of the other on the top of No. 2. You will now find the thinned end of No. 2 ele- vated by the weight of the flat piece of wood or slate ; then put the thinned end of it in the notch of No. 3, and draw No. 2 down by it, until the whole forms a resemblance of a figure 4 : at the exact place where No. 3 touches the upright, cut a notch, which, by catching the end of No. 1, will keep the trap together. You may now bait the end of No. 3 with a piece of cheese ; a mouse, by nibbling the bait, will pull down No. 3, the other pieces immediately separate, and the slate or board falls upon the mouse. We have seen numbers of mice, rats, and birds, caught by this iFifltttt of ^ SCrau. OPTICAL AMUSEMENTS. What wonders may be brought to pass, By the optician's magic glass ! A barley-corn of painted paper, lUumin'd by a farthing taper, Into a spacious plain extendeth, Whereon Dan Sol his hot glance bendeth. The leech's paltry, dark green potion Is magnified into an ocean : His little, crabb'd, perspective scrawl. Into th' hand-writing on the wall : liook one way, and a blow-fly's nose To elephant's proboscis grows : Turn t'other end, hippopotamus Becomes a gnat compared with a mouse. The science of optics affords an infinite variety of amusements, which cannot fail to instruct the mind as well as delight the eye. By the aid of Optical instruments we are enabled to lessen the distance to our visual organs between the globe we iiAabit and " the wonders of the heavens above us ;" tQ observe the exquisite finish, and propriety of construction, which are to be found in the most minute productions of the earth ; — to trace the path of the planet in its course round the magnificent orb of day, and to detect tlie pulsation of the blood, as it flows through tlie veins of an ip«p'^^ Thr.r:g, W" 110 OPTICAL AMUSEMENTS. are but a small portion of the powers which this science offers to man ; to enumerate them all would require a space equal to the body of our work : neither do we propose to notice, in the following pages, the various instru- ments and experiments which are devoted solely, or rather, chiefly, to pur- poses merely scientific ; it being our intention merely to call the attention of our juvenile readers to such things as combine a vast deal of amusement with much instruction ; to inform them as to the construction of the various popular instruments ; to show the manner of using them, and to explain eome of the most attractive experiments which the science affords. By doing thus much, we hope to offer a sufficient inducement to push inquiry much further than the information which a work of this nature will enable «is to afford. THE CAMERA OBSCURA, We give our young friends a brief description of this optical invention ; though very common, it is extremely amusing ; almost every one has seen it, but few persons know how to construct it. AC represents a box of about a foot and a half square, shut on every side ex- cept at D C ; O P is a smaller box, placed on the top of the greater ; M N is a double con- vex lens, whose axis makes an angle of forty-five degrees with B L, a plane mirror, fixed in the box, O P ; the focal length of the lens is nearly equal to C S+S T, i. e, to the sum of the distances of the lens from the middle of the mirror, and of the middle of the mirror from the bottom of the large box. The lens being turned toward the prospect, would form a pic- ture of it, nearly at its focus; but the rays, being intercepted by the mirror, will form the picture as far before the surface as the focus is behind it, that is, at the bottom of the larger box ; a communication being made between the boxes by the vacant space, Q O. This instrument is frequently used for the delineation of landscapes : for which purpose, the draughtsman, putting his head and hand into tlie box, through the open side. OPTICAL AMUSEMENTS. Ill D C, and drawing a curtain round to prevent the admission of the lights which would disturb the operation, can trace a distinct outline of the picture that appears at the bottom of the box. There is another kind of camera obscura, for the purposes of drawing, constructed thus : in the extremity of the arm, P Q, that extends from the side of a small square box, B L, is placed a double convex lens, whose axis is inclined in an angle of forty-five degrees, to a plane mirror, B O ; the focal length of the lens is equal to its distance from the side of the box, O T ; there- fore, when the lens is turned toward the illuminated prospect, it would pro- ject the image on the side, O T, if the mirror were removed ; but this will reflect the image to the side^ M L, which is as far distant from the middle of the mir- ror as this is from the side^ O T. It is there received on a piece of glass, rough at the upper side, and smooth at the lower, and appears in its proper colors on the upper side of the plate. It is evi- dent that in each of these in- struments the image is invert- ed with respect to the object, M S is a lid to prevent the admission of light during the delineation of the picture; and others, for the same pur- pose, are applied to the sides, M R and N L. You may also construct the camera obscura in a room, thus : — you first darken the room, by closing the shutters, and every place where the exter- nal light can be admitted. You then cut a circular hole in the shutter, or a board placed against the window, in which you place a lens, or convex- glass, the focus of which is at the distance of not less than four, nor more than fifteen or twenty feet : fit'om six to twelve feet is the best distance. At this distance, also, place a pasteboard, covered w^ith the whitest paper, with R black border, to prevent any of the side rays ficom disturbing the picture ; let it be two feet and a half long, and eighteen or twenty inches high ; bend the length of it inward, to the form of part of a circle, the diameter of which is equal to double the focal distance of the glass : then fix it on a frame of the same figure, and place it upon a movable foot, that it may be easily fixed at that exact distance from the glass where the objects paint themselves to tlie gieatest perfection. When it is thus placed, all the objects which are in the 112 OPTICAL AMUSEMENTS. front of the window will be painted upon the paper, in an inverted position^ with the greatest regularity, and in the most natural colors. There is another method of making the camera obscura, by a scioptric ball ; tliat is, a ball of wood, through which a hole is made, in which hole a lens is fixed : this ball is placed in a wooden frame, in which it turns freely round ; the frame is fixed to the hole in the shutter, and the ball, by turning about, answers, in great part, the use of the mirror on the outside of the window. If the hole in the window be not bigger than a pea, the objects will be represented without any lens. If you place a movable mirror without the window, by turning it more or less, you will have upon the paper all the objects which are on each side of the window. The inverted position of the images may be deemed an imperfection, but it is easily remedied ; for, if you stand above the board, on which they are received, and look down upon it, they will appear in their natural position ; or, if you stand before it, and, placing a common mirror against your breast, in an oblique direction, look down in it, you will there see the images erect, and they will receive an additional lustre from the reflection of the glass ; or, place two lenses in a tube tliat draws out ; or, lastly, if you place a large concave mirror at a proper distance before the picture, it will appear before the mirror in tlie air, and in an erect position. If, instead of putting the mirror without the window, you place it in the room, and above the hole, (which must then be made near the top of the sluitter,) you may receive the representation on a paper placed horizontally on a table, and draw all the objects that there appear painted. THE MAGNIFYING CAMERA OBSCURA. Let the rays of light that pass through the lens in the shutter be thrown on a large concave mirror, properly fixed in a frame. Then take a slip or thin plate of glass, and sticking any small object to it, hold it in the incident rays, at a little more than the focal distance fit'om the mirror, and you will gee, on the opposite wall, amidst the reflected rays, the image of that ob- ject, very large, and extremely clear and bright. THE PRISMATIC CAMERA OBSCURA. Make two holes, F,/, (Fig. 1,) in the shutter of a dark chamber, near t» each other ; and against each hole, a prism, ABC, and a 6 c, in a perpen- dicular direction, that their Sj)ectrums5 ^ ^, may be cast on the paper in a horizontal line, and coincide with each other ; the red and violet of the one being in the same part w'ith those of the other. The paper should ba OPTICAL AMUSEMENTS. 113 placed at such a distance from the prisms that the spectrum may be suffi- ciently dilated. Provide sevei-al papers nearly of the same dimensions with the spectrum, cross these papers, and draw lines parallel to the divisions of the colors : hi these divisions cut out such figures as \ ou may iind will have an agreeable effect, as flowers, trees, animals, &c. When you have placed one of these papers in its proper position, hang a black cloth or paper be- hind it, that none of the rays that pass tlu'ough may be reflected, and confiise the phenomenon : the figure cut on the paper will then apj^ear strongly illuminated widi all the original colors of nature. If, while one of the prisms remains at rest, the other be revolved on its axis, the continual alteration of the colors will afford a pleasing variety : which may be further increased, by turning the prism round in different di- rections. When the prisms are so placed that the two spectrums become coincident in an inverted order of their colom's, the red end of one falling on the violet end of the other, if they be then viewed through a third prism, D H, held parallel to their length, they will no longer appear coincident, but in the form of two distinct spectrums, jp t and n m, (fig. 2,) crossing on« another in the middle, like the letter X, The red of one spectrum, and the violet of the other, which were coincident at N M, being parted from each other by a greater refraction of the violet to p and «2, than that of the red to n and t. This recreation may be farther diversified by adding two other prisms, that shall form a spectrum in the same line, and contiguous to the other ; by which not only the variety of figures, but the vicissitude of colors, will l>e consideraDly augmented. 114 OPTICAL AMUSEMENTS. CAMERA LUCIDA. Opposite to the place or wall where the appearance is to be, make a hole of at least a foot in diameter ; or, if there be a high window with a casement of that dimension in it, this will do much better, without such hole or case- ment opened. At a convenient distance, to prevent its being perceived by the company in the room, place the object or picture intended to be repre- sented, but in an inverted situation. If the picture be transparent, reflect the sun's rays by means of a looking-glass, so that they may pass through it toward the place of representation ; and, to prevent any rays from passing aside it, let the picture be encompassed with some board or cloth. If the object be a statue, or a living creature, it must be enlightened by casting the sun's rays on it, either by reflection, refraction, or both. Between this ob- ject and the place of representation put a broad convex glass, ground tp such a convexity as that it may represent the object distinctly in sucli place. The nearer this is situated to the object, the more will the image be magni- fied upon the wall, and the further, the less ; such diversity depending on the difference of the spheres of the glasses. If the object caimot be conve- niently inverted, there must be two large glasses of proper spheres, situated at suitable distances, easily found, by trial, to make the representation cor- rect. This whole apparatus of object, glasses, &c. with "he persons employ- ed in the management of them, are to be placed witliout me window or hole, go that they may not be perceived by the spectators in the room, and the operation itself will be easily performed. THE POLEMOSCOPE. By a polemoscope you may see what passes in another place without being seen from thence yourself : it may be made by fixing, in a common opera-glass, a small mirror, inclined to an angle of forty-five degrees, and adjusting a proper object-glass ; by this, while appearing to look straight forward, you may see what passes on one side of you. This instrument may also be so constructed that the tube may turn round, and the mirror be elevated or depressed, that you may see successively, and at pleasure, all the objects that you would perceive, if you were at the top of tlie wall against which the instrument is placed. THE KALEIDOSCOPE. To construct this instrument procure a tube of tin, brass, pasteboard, or any other material, eight or ten inches long, and one and a half or two inches in diameter ; place a cap upon one end, with a small hole in the OPTICAL AMUSEMENTS. 115 centre, at the circumference of the circle, d, in the annexed figure, which is a view of the right end of the instrument, from which the cap iias been removed. The circle is the edge of tlie tube, the lines, a c and 6 c, are the edges of the two reflecting sm-faces, whicii are nearly of the same length as the tube : they may be madle of two pieces of looking-glass, or of plate- glass or crown-glass, which have been blackened on one side at e e, the surfaces ff, being well polished. The blackening may be effected with the smoke of a lamp simply, or npon varnish, or with any other black matter which effectually resists the rays of light ; and the two reflectors must be kept apart at g*, by means of a piece of cork, or any other substance, placed at each end of the tube. At c, where the reflectors join, they should be straight, and adapted to each other ; or they may be placed differently, or even parallel, as in die figure following. At the other end of the tube, (the object end,) where the two reflecting surfaces, a c b c, terminate, a circular piece of ground glass is to be fittef* *nto the tube, and retained there by means of a piece of wire, which is to be bent to a circle, and placed upon the glass to keep it steady. Over this end let another tube be fitted, an inch or two in length at least, capable of being turned round ; and, at its end, let another circular piece of glass, smooth, be fitted in, similarly to the preceding. Into this outer cap, or tube, put the objects to be viewed, which may consist of any semi-transparent col- ored substances, as glass, beads, shells, or pearls, and the like, but not too many at a time. Place the cap on, and then, advancing the tube to the eye, still keep- ing the side, a b, upward, look through at d, and you will have a brilliant symmet- rical repetition of the objects which are placed between the two glasses and visible tlirough the angular aperture, ab c. Turn rotmd the cap, more or less, m which the objects are so placed, and you will perceive a change in the combinations of the images; new forms will present themselves, entirely different from the former, sometimes arising out of (lie centre, at others vanishing there, and occasionally playing round H 2 1 16 OPTICAL AMUSEMENTS. it in double and opposite oscillations. Standing still, however, the draughts- man may cop}^ oflf upon paper the shapes that present themselves, if he cannot hope to equal the varied tints, which are developed in succession j each new one delighting the eye by the perfection of its forms and the brilliancy of its coloring, both of which depend upon previously managing the objects to be viewed, and the angle at which the two reflectors, d c, and 6 c, are fixed. "Instead o( two reflectors, this instrument may be constructed with three err more such planes, which may be arranged differently as regards each other : but the perfection of the kaleidoscope is to be found in procuring the reflection of distant natural objects, and in reducing them to the size proper for pictorial representation. This may be accomplished by fixing upon the object end a convex lens, fastened to the slider tube^ which must then be near- ly as long as the inner one, in order that the right focus may be found, which is adapted to the particular object ; so two or three lenses may be kept, of several focal lengths, wdiicli should be always less than its gieatest distance from tlie sight-hole, and will be found, generally, at from one-fourth to a third of that distance. A further variation^ however, may be obtained, by introducing two lenses ; one fixed to the inner tube, the other to the slider ; and approaching to or receding from these, by means of the slider, the fo- cus will be found. As a matter of economy to those who may possess a telescope, it is sug- gested, that the size of the kaleidoscope may be made to correspond with that instrument, so that its glasses may be occasionally borrowed. A con- cave glass, placed at the sight-hole, (d, fig. 2,) will throw the objects off, and reduce their size by taking care that the focal length be equal to the length of the reflectors. Supposing the instrument to contain twenty small pieces of glass, &c. and that you make ten changes in each minute, it will take the inconceivable space of 462,880,899,576 years and 360 days, to go through the immense variety of changes it is capable of producing, amounting (according to our frail idea of tbe nature of things) to an eternity. Or, if you take only twelve small pieces, and make ten changes in each minute, it will then require 33,264 days, or 91 years and 49 days, to exhaust its variations. THE MAGIC LANTERN. Tlie object of this ingenious instrument is to represent, in a dark room, on a white wall or cloth, a succession of enlarged figures, of remarkable, natural, or grotesque objects. The figure in the next page is a representa- tion of one. It consists of a tin box, with a funnel on tlie top, represented by e, and a door on one side of it. This funnel, by being bent, as shown in tlie figure, serves the double purpose of letting out tlie smoke, and keeping in OPTICAL AMUSEMENTS. 117 tlie light. In tlie middle of the bottom of the box is placed a movable tin lamp, «j which must have two or three good lights, at the height of the centre of tlie polished tin reflector, c. In the front of the box, opposite the reflector, is fixed a tin tube, m, in which there slides another tube, n. The sliding tube has, at its outer eytremity ,a convex lens, of about two inches diameter; tlie tube, m, also has a convex lens fix*- ed in it, as shown in the figure, of three inches di- ameter. The focus of the smaller of these lenses maybe about five inches* Between the tube, m, and the lamp, there must be a slit oropening, (asatii) to admit of the passage of glass sliders, mounted in paper or wooden fj-ames, such as are represented below ; upon which slid- ers it is that tlie miniature figures are painted, which are intended to be shown upon the wall. The distinctness of the enlarged figures depends not only upon tlie goodness of the magnifying glass, but upon the clearness of the light yielded by the lamp, a. It may be purchased ready made of any optician. To paint the glasses. Draw on a paper the subject you desire to paint. Lay it on a table or any fiat surface, and place the glass over it : then draw the outlines, with a very fine pencil, in varnish mixed with black paint, and, when dry, fill up the other parts in their proper colors. Transparent colors must be used for this purpose, such as carmine, lake, Prussian blue, verdigris, sulphate of iron, tincture of Brazil wood, gamboge, &c. ; and these must be tempered with a strong white varnish, to prevent their peeling off. Then sliade them with black, or with bistre, mixed with the same varnish. To exhibit the Magic Lantern. The lamj) being liglited, and the room darkened, place the machine on the table, at some distance from the white 118 OPTICAL AMUSEMENTS. wall or suspended sheet, and introduce mto the slit, i i, one of the sliders re* presented above, with the figures inverted. If the movable tube, n, be then pushed in or drawn out, till the proper focus be obtained, the figures on the slider will be reflected on the wall, in their distinct colors and proportions, with the appearance of life itself, and of any size, from six inches to seven feet, according to the distance of the lantern from the wall. Movements of the figures are easily made by painting the subject on two glasses, and pass- ing the same through the groove. To represent a tempest. Provide two plates of glass, whose frames are so thin, that they may both pass freely through the groove of the common magic lantern at the same time. On one of these, paint the appearance of the sea, fi"om the slightest agitation to the most violent commotion : representing, fii'st, a calm ; afterward a small agitation, with some clouds ; and so on to the end, wJiich should exhibit a furious storm. These representations are not to be distinct, but run into each other, that they may form a natural gradation ; and great part of the effect de- pends on the perfection of the painting, and the picturesque appearance of the design. On the other glass, paint vessels of different forms and dimensions, and in different directions, together with the appearance of clouds in the tempes- tuous parts. Both glasses being done, pass the first slowly tlu-ough the groove ; and when you come to tliat part where the storm begins, move it gently up and down, which will produce the appearance of a sea that begins to be agitated; and so increase the motion till you come to the height of the storm. At the same time introduce the other glass with the ships, and moving that in like manner, they will exhibit a natural representation of the sea, and of ships in a calm and in a storm. As the glasses are drawn slowly back, the teni[)est will seem to subside, the sky grow clear, and the ships glide gently over the waves OPTICAL AMUSEMENTS. 119 By means of two glasses, disposed in the before-mentioned manner, num- berless other subjects may be represented. THE APPARITION. Inclose a small magic lantern in a box large enough to contain a small swing dressing-glass, which will reflect the light thrown on it by the lan- tern in such a way, that it will pass out at the aperture made at the top of the box, which aperture should be oval, and of a size adapted to the cone of light to pass through it. There should be a flap with hinges, to cover the opening, that the inside of the box may not be seen. There must be holes in that part of the box which is over the lantern, to let the smoke out ; and over this must be placed a chafing-dish, of an oblong figure, large enough to hold several lighted coals. This chafing- dish, for the better carrying on the deception, may be inclosed in a painted tin box, about a foot high, with a hole at top, and should stand on four feet, to let the smoke of the lantern escape. There must also be a glass planned to move up and down in the groove, a 6, and so managed by a cord and pulley, c d ef, that it may be raised up and let down by the cord coming through the outside of the box. On this glass, the spectre (or any other figure you please) must be painted, in a contracted or squat form, as the figure will reflect a greater length than it is drawn. When j^ou have lighted the lamp in the lantern, and placed the mirror in a proper direction, put the box on a table, and, setting the chafing-dish in it, throw some incense in powder on the coals. You then open the trap door and let down tlie glass in the groove slowly, and when you perceive the smoke diminish, draw up the glass that the figure may disappear, and shut the trap door. This exhibition will afford a deal of wonder : but observe, that all the lights in the room must be extinguished; and the box should be placed on a high table, that the aperture through which the light comes out may not be seen. THE NEBULOUS MAGIC LANTERN. The light of the magic lantern, and the color of images, may not only be painted on a cloth, but also reflected by a cloud of smoke. Provide a 120 OPTICAL AMUSEMENTS. a box of wood or pastel )OHrd, about four feet higb, and seven or eight inches square at bottom, but diminishing as it ascends, so that its aperture at top oe but six in('lies long, and lialf an inch wide. At the bottom of this box there must be a door that shuts quite close, by which you are to place in the box a chafing-dish with hot coals, on which is to be thrown incense, wliose smoke goes out in a cloud at the top of the box : on this cloud, you ^ve to throw the light that comes out of the lantern, and which you bring into a smaller compass by drawing out the movable tube. The common figure will here serve. It is remaikable in this representation, that the motion of the smoke does not at all change the figures; which appear so conspicuous that the spectator thinks he can grasp them with his hand. In the experiment, some of the rays passing through the smoke, the representation will be much less vivid than on the cloth ; and if care be not taken to reduce the light to its smallest focus, it will be still more imperfect. THE PHANTASMAGORIA. In the exhibition of the common magic lantern, the spectators see a round circle of light with the figures in the middle of it ; but, in the Phantas- magoriji, they see the figures only, without any circle of light. The exhi- bition is produced by a niL^gic lantern, placed on that side of a half-trans- parent screen which is opposite to that on which the spectators are, instead of being on the same side, as in the ordinary exhibition of the magic kntern. To favor the deception, the sliders are made perfectly opaque, except in those places that contain the figures to be exhibited, and in these light parts the glass is covered with a more or less transparent tint, accord- ing to the effect required. The easiest way is to draw the figures with water colors on thin paper, and afterward varnish them. To imitate the naturjil motions of the objects represented, several pieces of glass, placed behind each other, are occasionally employed. By removing the lantern to different distances, and, at the same time, altering, more or less, the position of the lens, tlie images are made to increase and diminish, and to l)ecome more or less distinct at the pleasure of the exhibitor; so that, to a person unacquainted with the eflfect of optical insti'uments, these figures appear actually to advance and recede. To make transparent screens for the Phantasmagoria. Transparent screens are prepared by spreading white wax, dissolved in spirits of wine or oil of turpentine, over tliin muslin : a screen so prepared may be rolled up without injury. A clearer screen may be produced, by having the muslin always strained upon a rectangular frame, and preparing it with turpentine, instead of wax : but such a scieen is not always convenient, and (;annot be rolled without cracking, and becoming, in a short time, useless ; therefore, nothing can be better for tlie purpose than the former. OPTICAL AMUSEMENTS. 121 SOLAR MICROSCOPE. The solar microscope is constructed in the following manner. In the in- side of a tube is placed a convex lens, A B, and at a distance a little greater than its focal length, but less tlian double of it, is fixed some transparent colored object, Q, P, at the focus conjugate to the place of the object. \ A broad lens, C D, is placed before the object, to collect the solar rays, for the purpose of illuminating it more strongly, and, consequently, making tlie image more distinct and vivid. TO CONSTRUCT A LANTERN WHICH WILL ENABLE A PERSON TO READ BY NIGHT AT A GREAT DISTANCE. Make a lantern of a cylindric form, or shaped like a small cask placed lengthwise, so that its axis may be horizontal, and fix in one end of it a para- bolic or spheric mirror, so that its focus may fall about the middle of the axis of the cylinder. If a small lamp or taper be placed in this focus, the light passing tlu'ough the other end will be reflected to a great distance, and will be so bright that the very small letters on a remote object may be read, by looking at them witli a good telescope. Those who see this light, if they be in the direction of the axis of the lantern, will think they see a large fire. THE CHINESE SHADOWS, (OMBRES CHINOISES.) Make an aperture in a partition wall, of any size ; for example, four feet in length and two in breadth, so that the lower edge may be about five feet from the floor, and cover it with white Italian gauze, varnished with gum- copal. Provide several frames of the same size as the aperture, covered with the same kind of gauze, and delineate upon the gauze difl:erent figures, such as landscapes and buildings, analogous to the scenes which you intend to exhibit by means of small figures representing men and animals. These figures are formed of pasteboard, and their different parts are made movable, according to the effect intended to be produced by their shadows, when moved backward and forward behind the frames, and at a small dis- tance from them. To make them act with more facility, small wires, fixed to their movable parts, are bent backward, and made to terminate in rings, through which the fingers of the hand are put, while the figure is supported by the left, by means of another iron wire. In this manner they may be 122 OPTICAL AMUSEMENTS. made to advance or recede, and to gesticulate, without the spectators ob- serving- the mechanism by which they are moved ; and, as tlie sliadow of tliese figures is not observed on the paintings till tJiey are opposite tliose parts which are not strongly sliaded, they may thus be concealed, and made to appear at the proper moments, and others may be occasionally substituted in their stead. It is necessary, when the figures are made to act, to keep up a sort of dialogue, suited to their gestures, and even to imitate the noise occasioned by different circumstances. The paintings must be illuminated from behind, l)y means of a reverberating lamp, placed opposite to the centre of the painting, and distant from it about four or five feet. Various amusing scenes may be represented in this manner, by employing small figures of men and animals, and making them move in as natural a way as possible, which ivill depend on the address and practice of the person who exhibits them, THE MARVELLOUS MIRROR. In the wainscot of a room make two openings, of a foot high, and ten inches wide, and about a foot distant from each other : let them be at the ■common height of a man's head ; and, in each of them, place a transparent glass, surrounded with a frame, like a common mirror. Behind this partition place two mirrors, one on the outwai'd side of each opening, inclined to the wainscot in an angle of forty-five degrees ; let them be both eighteen inches square ; let all the space between them be enclosed by boards or pasteboard, j)ainted black, and well closed, that no light may enter ; let there be also two cinlains to cover them, which may be drawn aside at pleasure. When a person looks into one of these supposed mirrors, instead of seeing his own face he will perceive the object that is in the front of the other; so that, if two persons present themselves at the same time before these mirrors, instead of each one seeing himself they will reciprocally see each other. There should be a sconce with a candle or lamp placed on each side of the two glasses in the wainscot, to enligliten the faces of the persons who look in them, otherwise this experiment will have no remarkable effect. l^his recreation may be considerably improved by placing the two glasses in the wainscot, in adjoining rooms, and a number of persons being pre- viously placed in one room, when a stranger enters the other, you may tell him his face is dirty, and desire him to look in the glass, which he will natur- ally do ; and on seeing a strange face he will draw back ; but returning to it, and seeing another, another, and another, like the phantom kings in Macbeth, what his surprise will be is more easy to conceive than express. After this,, a real mirror may be privately let down on the back of the glass, and if he can be prevailed on to look in it once more, he v/ill then, to his farther astonishment, see his own face ; and may be told, perhaps persuaded, that all he thought he saw before was mere imagination. OPTICAL AMUSEMENTS. 12S When a man looks in a mirror that is placed perpendicularly to another,, liis face will appear entirely deformed. If the mirror be a little inclined, so as to make an angle of eighty degrees, (that is, one-ninth part from the perpendicular,) he will then see all the parts of his face, except the nose and forehead : if it be inclined to sixty degrees, (that is, one-third part,) he will appear with three noses and six eyes : in short, the apparent deformity will v-ary at each degree of inclination ; and when the glass comes to forty-fiv^e degrees, (that is, half-way down,) the face will vanish. If, instead of placing the two mirrors in this situation, they are so disposed that their junction may be vertical, their different inclinations will produce other effects; as the situation of the object rela-tive to these mirrors is quite different. INGENIOUS ANAMORPHOSIS, This recreation shows how to draw, on a flat surface, an irregular figure, which shall appear, when seen from a proper point of view, not only regU' lar, but elevated. Provide a thin board, about two feet long and one foot wide, as A B C D, and place thereon a circular piece of card or stiff drawing paper, on which a distorted figure is to be drawn, that, being viewed from the point, H, shall appear regular, and exactly resembling that which is placed at M Fr H 3 Fix, at the end of the board, an upright piece, I, of thin wood or tin, al tlie top of which is a sight -hole, H, of two-tenths of an inch in diameter. Prepare a lamp, or candlestick, the light of which may be raised or low- ered at pleasure, and to which is fixed a brass arm, bearing a sort of coni- cal funnel, D, and whose opening at the end next the light is not more tlian three or four tenths of an inch in diameter. Draw the subject you would represent on a piece of glass of equal height with the space, M F, with a very light stroke, and with any color that is quite opacjue. Then remove the upright piece, I, and place the lamp, so' prepared, in such a manner that the light may be exactly where the sight- hole, H, was. Its rays then passing tlirough the glass at M F, will en* 124 OPTICAL AMUSEMENTS. iigliten the surface of your paper, and there show, in a distorted form, the subject that is painted on the glass. Then draw, with a pencil, all the strokes of the shadow as they appear, and, taking away the light, replace the upright side-piece, I, and see if what you have drawn correspond with the subject on the glass, correcting what imperfec- tions there may happen to be. In the last place, color the subject, so traced, with the utmost at- tention, inspecting your work, from time to time, from the point of view, before you give it the finishing stroke. When the figure, that is drawn and painted on your paper, is viewed from the sight, H, it appears to be at the same point where the glass, M F, was placed, and in the same form that it was painted on the glass. It appears to the eye even elevated above the surface of the board on which the drawing is placed, and there- by receives a remarkable and pleasing illusion. SINGULAR ILLUSION. Affix to a dark wall a round piece of paper an inch or two in diameter ; and, a little lower, at the distance of two feet on each side, make two marks ; tlien place yourself directly opposite to the paper, and hold tlie end of your finger before your face in such a manner, that when the right eye is open, it shall conceal the mark on the left, and, when the left eye is open, the mark on the right ; if you then look with both eyes to the end of your fin- ger, the paper, which is not at all concealed by it from eitlier of your eyes, will, nevertheless, disappear. ANOTHER. Fix, at the height of the eye, on a dark ground, a small round p'utce of white paper, and a little lower, at the distance of two feet to the right, fix up another, of about three inches in diameter ; then place yourself opposite to the first piece of paper, and, having sliut the left eye, retire backward, keeping your eye still fixed on the first object : wlien you are at the distance of nine or ten feet, the second will entirely disappear from your sight. THE MULTIPLIED MONEY. Take a large drinking-glass, of a conical form, that is, small at bottom, and wide at top, and, having put into it a sliilling, let it be half filled with water ; then place a plate upon the top of the glass, and turn it (juickly over, that the water may not get out : a piece of silver as large as half-a- crown will innnediately appear on the plate, and, somewhat higher up, another piece of the size of a shilling. CHEMICAL AMUSEMENTS. They play such merry pranks, that some would think They entertained an imp to conjure for them. Yet 'tis not so ;— their few hours of pastime, These young disciples of the Alchymist Adorn with feats, which, to the unlearned eye, Show oft like magic :— but grandam Wisdom Knows them as recreations of young Science, In sportive mood, upon a holyday. Chemistry has been called, by its votaries, a fascinating science, and with some truth, for it certainly affords more recreation than any other : that it is the most useful of all sciences cannot be denied, nor can there be a doubt that it has a tendency almost to enchant those who devote their attention to it. Its powers are almost infinite, and, in some instances, pro- duce effects which appear magical: a great number of those conjuring tricks, which have astonished our cotemporaries as much as our forefathers, have been effected solely by its agency. It is not, of course, our intention to teach our readers chemistry in all its branches, but merely to direct the 126 CHEMICAL AMUSEMENTS, inquiring mind of youth to skim liglitly and agreeably over its surface : for this purpose, we have selected a series of experiments for their amusement, not doubting but that they will considei' the tirae profitably spent in perusing them, and we flatter ourselves that they will be an inducement to carry their inquiries much further than our limits will afford. For those who wish to be instructed as well as amused, we have added some explanations of the decompositions, or chemical changes, which take place, in order to show that, although almost magical in appearance, they are dependent upon some fixed and unerring law of nature. Without any "further prefatory observa- tions, we shall now commence our Chemical Recreations, CRYSTALLIZATION OF SALTS. 1. Dissolve one ounce of sulphate of soda (Glauber's salts) in two ounces of boil=ing water ; pour it while hot, into a phial, and cork it close. In this etate it will not crystallize when cold ; but if the cork l)e removed, the crystal- lization will commence and proceed rapidly. The presence of atmospheric air is necessary in the process of crystal- lization; the experiment will occasionally fail when under unfavorable cir- cumstances : should this be the case, drop into the fluid a crystal of Glauber's salt, and the whole will immediately commence shooting into beautiful crystals. 2. Repeat the above experiment with a small thermometer immersed in the solution, and corked up with it. When cold, remove the cork, and the thermometer will be seen to rise. This experiment shows that heat is given out in the act of crystallization. 3. Take half an ounce of caustic soda, (common «oda,) and dissolve it in about its own weight of water ; then pour into the solution half an ounce of sulphuric acid (oil of vitriol :) when the mixture is cold, crystals of sulphata of soda will be foimd in the liquor. 4. Take caustic soda, and pour upon it muriatic acid : this will produce muriate of soda, our common table salt. 5. Take of carbonate of ammonia, (the common volatile smelling salts,) and pour upon it muriatic acid until the effervescence cease. The produce will be a solid salt, viz. muriate of ammonia, or crude salammoniac of the shops. Caustic substances corrode matter in consequence of their tendency to unite with it ; they continue to act upon it until they are saturated by tlio combination. 6. Mix two ounces of semi-vitrified oxyd of lead (litharge) with three drachms of muriate of ammonia, and submit the whole to a strong heat in a ci u(;ible. The heat will drive off tlie ammonia, and the muriatic acid CHEMICAL AMUSEMENTS. 127 will combine with the lead, forming a muriate of lead. When the operatiou is complete, pour the ingredients into a metallic vessel to cool and crystal- lize. This is the patent yellow used by painters. In tliis experiment, the lead is dissolved by the muriatic acid, which ha» been disengaged by the heat driving off the ammonia with which it wag previously combined. SYMPATHETIC INKS^ 1. Write with a diluted solution of muriate or nitrate of cobalt, and the writing will be invisible ; but, upon being held to the fire, it will appear- perfectly distinct, and of a blue color : if the cobalt should be adulterated with iron, the writing will appear of a green color. When taken from the fire, the writing will again disappear. If a landscape be drawn and all finished with common colors, except the leaves of the trees, the grass and the sky, and the latter be finished with this sympathetic ink, and the two former with the adulterated solution just mentioned, the drawing will seem to be unfinished, and have a wintry appearance ; but, upon being held to the fire, the grass and the trees will become green, the sky blue, and the whole assume a rich antl beautifiil appearance. 2. Write with a diluted solution of muriate of copper, and the writing will be invisible when cold ; but, on being held to the fire, it will appear of a yellow color. A landscape may be drawn and finished, as in the last ex-- periment, and, in addition to the sympathetic inks there used, corn fields may be painted or finished with this sympathetic ink. The whole will have a very drear and bleak aspect till held before a fire, when it will in- stantly assume a cheerful and lively appearance, as if by magic. If human beings be drawn in common colors, as if in the act of reaping, the whole will appear more cm*ious and inteiesting. Tliese landscapes will, at any time, exhibit the same appearance. 3. Write with a weak solution of alum in lemon-juice, and the charac- ters will remain invisible until wetted with water, which renders them of a grayish color, and quite transparent. A letter written with a solution of rock-alum alone, being dried, and having a small quantity of water poured over it, will appear of a whiter color than the paper. 4. Write with a weak solution of sulphate of iron, (green vitriol j) when dry it will appear invisible; but if wetted over with a brush, dipped in tincture of galls, or a strong decoction of oak bark, the writing will be restored, and appear black. 5. Write with the above solution ; when dry, wash it over with a so- lution of prussiate of potash, and the writing will be restored to a beauti- ful blue. 128 CHEMICAL AMUSEMENTS. In all secret or sympathetic writing, as it is called, there is a chemical decomposition : this is more particularly striking in the two last experi- ments ; in the former of vviiich, the gallic acid unites with the iron, forming a black ; and in the latter, the prussic acid unites with the iron, forming a blue, or prussiate of iron. HEAT AND COLD. 1. Take one ounce of muriate of ammonia, the same quantity of nitrate of potash, (saltpetre,) and two ounces of sulphate of soda : reduce these salts separately into powder, and mix them gradually with four ounces of water ; the result will be, that as the salts dissolve, cold will be produced. A thermometer, immersed in the mixture, will sink at or below the freez- ing point. If a test tube be filled with water, and immersed in the mix- ture, the water will soon be frozen. The above mixture is frequently used at the tables of the great, to cool wine when ice cannot be procured. 2. Put a small quantity of sulphuric aciil (oil of vitriol) into a glass or €up, and pour upon it about half its quantity of cold water; upon stirring it, the temperature will rise to many degrees above boiling water. In mix- ing sulphuric acid v/ith Avater, great care should be taken not to do it too suddealy, as the vessel may break from the incieased heat, and the acid be spilkd on the hands, clothes, &c. ; the greatest caution is necessary in using it, as it will burn almost anything it touches. S. Dissolve a little lime in muriatic or nitric acid, then pour some of the liquid into a glass, and add to it a few drops of sulphuric acid; the whole will become nearly a solid mass, and, at the same time, give out a Btrong heat. 4. Set a quart pot upon a stool, on which a little water has been pre- viously thrown, before the fire ; put a handful of snow into the pot, and also a handful of common salt. Hold the pot fast with one hand, and with a short stick stir the contents Avith the other, as if you were churning butter ; in a few minutes the pot will freeze so hard to the stool, that with both hands you can scarcely disengage it. 5. The most pov/erful of all freezing mixtures is a mixture of muriate of lime and snow : to produce the greatest effect by this mixture, equal weights of the salt, finely powdered, and newly-fallen snow, must be quickly mixed together. This is the mixture that is employed to freeze (quicksilver. Whenever substances become more condensed by mixture, heat is given oi;t ; when they expand, cold is produced : or perhaps, it would be more proper to say, the compound has more or less capacity for heat than the separate ingredients. CHEMICAL AMUSEMENTS 129 6. Fill a common thermometer tube witli cold water, and suspend it in the air by a string : if the tube be continually sprinkled with ether, the water will presently become ice. All liquids require a great portion of heat to convert tl)em into vapour, and all evaporation produces cold. The quick evaporation of etlier, in the above experiment, carries away the heat from the water, and converts it into ice. An animal might be frozen to death in the midst of summer, by being re- peatedly sprinkled with ether. COMBUSTION AND EXPLOSION, 1. Bruise, and slightly moisten with water, a few crystals of nitrate of copper; then roll them up quickly in a piece of tin-foil: in about a minute the tin-foil will begin to smoke, and soon after, take fire and explode witli a slight crackling noise. 2. Throw a few grains of chlorate of potash, (oxmuriate of potash,) and a very small bit or two of phosphorus, into a cup containing a little sulphuric acid, the phospliorus Avill instantly burst into flame. 3. Take five parts of nitrate of potash, (saltpetre,) three of sub-carbonate of potash, (salt of tartar,) and one of sulphiu-, all quite dry, and mix tliem to- gether in a warm mortar : if a little of this powder be placed upon a shovel, over a hot fire, it first begins to blacken, and, at last, melts and explodes with a loud report. A small quantity only should be used ; for although there is no danger in the mixtm'e, yet some nervous persons may be alarmed at the loudness of the report. 4. Put a small quantity of calcined or pure magnesia into a cup, and pour over it a sufficient quantity of sulphuric acid to cover it : almost imme- diately combustion will commence, and sparks will be thrown out in all directions, 5. Put a little dry pulverized charcoal into a warm tea-cup, and pour over it some nitric acid, when combustion will take place, as in the prece- ding experiment. 6. Pour a table-spoonful of oil of turpentine into a cup, and place it in the open air ; then put about half the quantity of nitric acid, mixed with a few drops of sulphuric, into a phial, fastened to the end of a long stick ; pour it upon the oil, and it will immediately burst into flames, and continue to give out much light and heat. 7. Rub a few grains of chlorate of potash, and about half the quantity of sulphur, together in a mortar, and a crackling detonation will be pro- duced, accompanied with flashes of light. If a small quantity of tlie saiae I 13Q CHEMICAL AMUSEMENTS. mixture be wrapped in paper, laid upon an anvil, and smartly struck with a hammer, a report will be produced, which will be loud in proportion to the quantity used. 8. Take a little of tlie composition mentioned in the last experiment, on tlie point of a knife, and drop it into a wine glass containing sulphuric acids ; a beautiful column of flame will be tlie consequence immediately it comes in contact with the acid. 9. Mix a few grains of chlorate of potash with twice their quantity of loaf sugar reduced to powder ; place this mixture upon a plate, dip a piece of wire in sulphuric acid, and let a single drop fall from its end upon the mix- ture ; it will immediately burst into flame, and continue to burn till the whole is consumed. 10. Take a metal button, and rub it for a short time against a piece of wood or stone, then touch a small piece of phosphorus with it, the latter will immediately take fire and burn. 11. Hold the end of a rod of glass to a grindstone while it is revolving ; In a very short time it will become so hot, that phosphorus, gunpowder, and other combustible bodies, may be inflamed by it. Wood rubbed against wood will also produce great heat. The natives of New Holland light their fires by these means. 12. Put a small piece of German tinder into the lower end of a syringe, then draw up the piston and force it suddenly down by giving it a smgurt blow against a wall or table, when the tinder will be ignited, either from the sudden condensation of the air, or the friction occasioned by the move- ment of the piston. Syringes for tliis purpose are sold in London at about half-a-guinea each. 13. Take two pieces of common bonnet cane and rub tiiem strongly against each other in the dark, and a considerable quantity of light will be produced. Two pieces of borax have the same property in a more emi- nent degree. In this, and the three preceding experiments, the effects de- scribed being produced by friction, they ought, in strict propriety, perhaps, to be called electrical rather than chemical experiments. 14. Combustion by concentrating the sun^s rays. Hold a double convex glass, of about two inches diameter, to the sun, about mid-day vvhen shining very bright, at its focal distance from a piece of coin, which will soon become so hot that it cannot be touched with the finger. The inten- sity of the heat produced will depend upon the size and convexity of the glass, and al,«o on the season of the year. Gunpowder, phosphorus, &c may be set on fire in this manner; and, with a very powerful glass, most of the metals may be melted. CHEMICAL AMUSEMENTS. 131 15, Put a small quantity of spirits of wine into a glass with a halfpenny or a shilling-, tlien direct the rays of the sun, by means of a glass, upon the coin, and, in a short time, it will become so hot as to inflame the spirits. COMBUSTION IN AND UNDER WATER. 1. Mix one grain of phosphorus with three or four grains of chlorate of potash, and put this mixture into a glass witli a narrow bottom; then put the small end of a fimnel into the glass, in contact with the mixture, and fill the glass nearly full of water, but not by means of the funnel ; then pota* a few drops of sulphuric acid down the funnel, and tlie combustion of the pliosphorus will immediately commence, and continue till the whole is con- sumed. 2. The Well of Fire. .»'Add, gradually, one ounce, by measure, of sul- phuric acid to five or six i^imces of water, contained in an eartlienware basin; throw in an ounce of granulated zinc, and a small bit or two of phosplioras, when phosphuretted hydrogen gas will be produced, which takes fire immediately it comes in contact with atmospheric air; so that, in a short time, the whole surface will become luminous, and continue so long as gas is generated, which may be seen darting from the bottom through ti)e fluid with great rapidity. 3.. Fill a saucer with water, and let fall into it a grain or two of pota&- sium ; the potassium will instantly burst into flame with a slight explosion, and burn vividly on the surface of the water, darting, at the same time, from one side of the vessel to the other, with great violence, in the form of a beautiful red-hot fire ball, 4. JVill-o'-the-wisp. Take a glass tumbler three parts filled with water, and drop into it two or three lumps of phosphuret of lime ; a decomposition will take place, and phosphuretted hydrogen gas be produced, bubbles of which will rise through the water, and take fire immediately they burst through the surface, terminating in beautiful ringlets of smoke, which wilt continue until the phosphuret of lime is exhausted. This gas is generated at the bottom of stagnant shallow pools, in marsheu and boggy places, and is frequently seen hovering over the surface of burial grounds ; it is what we call the ignis fatuus or Will-o'-the-wisp. 5, Green Fire tender Water. Put into a glass tumbler two ounces of water, and add, fiist, a piece or two of phosphorus about the size of a pea,, tlien thirty or forty grains of chlorate of potash ; then pour upon the mass^ by means of a funnel with a long neck reaching to the bottom of tlie glass, live or six drachms of sulphuric acid. As soon as the acid comes in con- tact with the ingredients, flashes of fire begin to dart from under the siurfacc I 2 132 CHEP/IICAL AMUSEMENTS. ofthe fluid. Wlien tills takes jilace, drop into the mixture a few pieces of phosphuret of lime ; this will immediately illumine the bottom of the vessel, and cause a stream of fire, of an emerald green color, to pass through the fluid. The effects produced in the foregoing experiments, are occasioned hy the sudden chemical decomposition which takes place; and here it maybe ne- cessary to caution our young friends not to exceed the quantities we have directed to be used ; for although we have avoided everything that is dan- gerous, yet an excess of quantity, in some cases, might be attended with in- convenience, and create alarm from the sudden efiects that are produced. When phosphorus is used, it should be handled with great care, lest any portion of it get under the finger nails, a small bit of which would occasion considerable pain for sometime. LUMINOUS WRITING IN THE DARK. Fix a small piece of solid phosphorus in a quill, and write with it upon ^ paper; if the paper be then removed to a dark room, the writing will ap- peal- beautifully luminous. GREEN FIRE. / Put a small quantity of highly-rectified sj)irlts of wine, mixed with a little boracic acid, into an earthenware vessel, and set them on fire, when a very beautiful green flame will be produced. RED FIRE. Proceed as in the last experiment, using nitrate or muriate of strontites, tostead of boracic acid, and a beautiful red flame will be produced. YELLOV^r FIRE. Proceed as above, mixing nitrate or muriate of barytes with tiie spirits, and a brilliant yellow flame will be produced. The above methods have been used in our theatres to heighten the effect of some of those horrifying spectacles with which the city has been treated, siucii as Der Freyschut/, &c. METALLIC DISSOLVENTS. Gold. Pour a small quantity of nitro-muriatic acid upon a small piece of gold, or gold leaf, and, in a short time, it will completely disappear, and the solution will have a beautiful yellow color. Silver. Pour a little nitric acid upon a small piece of pure silver, or silver leaf, and it will be dissolved in a few minutes. CHEMICAL AMUSEMENTS. 133 Copper. Pour a little diluted nitric acid upon a small piece of copper, and, in a short time, the copper will be dissolved, and the solution will have a beautiful blue color. Lead. Pour a little diluted nitric acid upon a small piece or two of lead, which will first convert it into a white powder, and then dissolve it. Iron. Pour some sulphuric acid, diluted with about four times its bulk of water, upon a few iron filings ; a violent effervescence will ensue, and, in a little time, the filings will be dissolved. These experiments are intended to show how easily we can dissolve metals when we submit them to a proper menstruum. METALLIC VEGETATION. Mix together equal parts of saturated solutions of silver and mercury, di- luted with distilled water : in this mixture suspend five or six drachms of pure mercury in a piece of fine linen rag doubled. The metallic solutions will soon shoot into beautiful needle-shaped crystals, and attach themselves, and adhere strongly, to the bag containing the mercury. When the arbori- zation ceases to increase, the bag, loaded with beautiful crystals, may be taken out of the vessel where it was formed, by means of the thread by %vhioh it is suspended, and hung under a glass jar, where it may be preserv- ed as long as may be thought proper. THE LEAD TREE. Put into a common wine decanter about half an ounce of super-acetate of lead, (sugar of lead,) and fill it to the bottom of the neck with distilled or rain water; then suspend, by a bit of silk, or thread, fastened also to tlie cork or stopper, a piece of zinc wire, two or tiiree inches long, so that it may hang us nearly in the centre as possible ; then place the decanter where it may not be disturbed. The zinc will very soon be covered with beautiful crystals of lead which are precipitated from the solution, and this will continue until the whole becomes attached to the zinc, assuming the form of a tree or bush, whose leaves or branches are laminal, or in plates of metallic lustre. THE TIN TREE. Into the same, or a similar vessel, to that used for the lead tree, pour distilled or rain water, as before, and put in three drachms of muriate of tin, and about ten drops of nitric acid. When the salt is dissolved, suspend a piece of zinc wire, as in the last experiment, and set the whole aside to precipitate without disturbance. In a few hours the effect will be similar to that produced by the lead, only that the tree of tin will have more lustre- In these experiments it is wonderful to see the lamina, or thin plates, shoot out, as it were, from nothing. CHEMICAL AMUSEMENTS. THE SILVER TREE, V Put into a decanter four drachms of nitrate of silver, and fill up the de- canter with distilled or rain water; then drop in about an ounce of mercury, and place the vessel where it may not be disturbed : in a short time the silver Avill be precipi- tated in the most beautiful arbo- rescent form, resembling real vegetation. The above experiments show the precipitation of one metal by another, owing to the affinity that exists between them. The metal in solution having a greatei" affinity for the pure metai suspended in it, precipi- tates itself from tlie solution, and becomes firmly attached thei-eto. The SilVer IVee, pro- duced as above described, is frequently called Ai'])or Dianae, or the Tree of Diana. TRANSMUTATION OF COLORS. To 'produce a blue by mixing two colorless fluids. Pom a little of ihe solution of sulphate of iron into a glass, then add to it a few drops of a solution of prussiate of potash, and the whole will assume a beautiful i>lue color. In this experiment a decomposition takes place ; the sulphuric acid leav- ing tlie iron to unite with the potasli, and the j^russic acid leaving the pot- asls to unite with the iron, forming prussiate of iron, and sulphate of potash ; tiie snlf)hate of potash remaining in solution, while the prussiate of iron is slowly precipitated, falling to the bottom in the state of a fine powder. This is the prussian blue of the shops. To produce a yellow from two colorless fluids. Pour a little of the soliition of nitrate of bismuth into a glass, then add to it a small quantity of solution of prussiate of potash, and a yellow color will be immediately produced. In this experiment, as in the last, we have a decomposition ; nitrate of potash and prussiate of bismuth are formed, the prussiate of bismuth giving it tlie yellow color. To produce a brown from two colorless fluids. Pour a little of the CHEMICAL AMUSEMENTS. 135 solution of sulphate of copper into a glass, then add to it a small quantity of a solution of prussiate of potash, and a reddish brown will be produced, In this expei iment we have a sulphate of potash and a prussiate of cop- per, which gives the brown color, according to the principle just laid down. K To make black ink from two colorless Jluids, Put into a glass a quantity of water, and add to it some tincture of galls ; then put in a small quantity of a solution of sulphate of iron, and tlie whole will immediately become black. Here, as in the preceding experiments, a decomposition is effected ; tlie gallic acid uniting with the iron, forms our common writing ink. A blue color produced from two colorless fluids. Put into a glass a quantity of water, and dissolve thei-ein a few crystals of sulphate of copper, dien pour in a small quantity of liquid ammonia, and the whole will imme- diately be changed to a beautiful blue. In this experiment the ammonia unites to the copper, forming ammoniate of copper, which is of a beautiful blue, approaching to violet. Another way. Take any chalybeate water, (that is, water containing iron in solution,) and add to it a little of the solution of prussiate of potash, which will clrange it to a blue color, as in a previous experiment. Prussiate of potash is one of the best tests for iron that we are acquainted with, and will detect its pressure, however minute the quality. To change a blue liquid to a red. Pour a little of the infusion of lit- mus, or blue cabbage, into a wine glass, and add to it a drop or two of ni- tric or sulphuric acid, which will immediately change it to a red color. One of the characteristics of acid is that it changes most of the vegetable colors to red. This experiment is an instance- ^ To change a blue liquid to green. Pour a little of the infusion of vi- olets into a wine glass, and add to it a few drops of a solution of potash or soda, when it will be changed to a beautiful green ; to vvhich, indeed, al- kalies change most of the vegetable colors. To change a red liquid into various colors. Put a little of the infu- sion of red cabbage into three different glasses ; to the first, add a little mu- riatic or nitric acid; to the second, a little of the solution of potash; and to the third, a little of the solution of sulphate of alumin and potash, (alum.) The liquid in the first glass will be converted to a fine crimson, that ill the second to a beautiful green, and that in the third to a purple. In this experiment the changes take place as in the preceding ones, and may be explained on the same principles of decomposition. 136 CHEMICAL AMUSEMENTSo THE MAGIC SHRUB. Place a sprig of rosemary, or any otlier garden herb, in a glass jar, so that when it is inverted, the stem may be downward, and supported by the sides of the vessel ; then put some benzoin acid upon a piece of hot iron, so hot that tlie acid may be sublimed, which will rise in form of a thick white vapour. Invert the jar over the iron, and leave the whole untouched until the sprig be covered by the sublimed acid in the form of a beautiful hoar frost. Sublimation is the same as distillation, only we call it sublimation when the product is collected in a solid form ; the term distillation is applied to liquids. In the above experiment we have a beautiful instance of sublima- tion, the fumes of the acid rise and are condensed on the cold leaves of the plant. A LAMP WITHOUT FLAME. Procure six or eight inches of platinum wire, about the hundredth part of an inch in thickness ; coil it round a small cylinder ten or twelve times, then drop it on the flame of a spirit lamp, so that part may touch the wick and part renvain above it. Light the lamp, and wlien it has burned a minute or two, put it out; the wire will then be ignited, and continue so long as any spirit remains in the lamp. Lamps manufactured on this principle are sold by some of the chemists in London. THE EXPLODING TAPER. If the light of a taper be blown- out, and the taper be let down into ajar of oxygen gas while the snuff (which should be a thick one) remains red hot, it rekindles instantly with an explosion. When the taper is relighted, it con- tinues to burn with a rapidity, a brilliancy of flame, and an evolution of light truly wonderful. THE GLOW-WORM IN GAS Place a glow-worm withiii ajar of oxj^gen gas, in a dark room ; the insect will become more active, and shine with greater brilliancy, than it does in common air. Oxygen gas communicates a stimulus to the animal system; and it is, probably, owing to this, that the glow-worm becomes more beauti- ful in consequence of its being more active, as its luminous appearance is suj)posed to depend entirely on the will of the animal. THE CANDLE INVISIBLY EXTINGUISHED. Place a lighted candle in the bottom of a jar which has its open part upper- most, (the jar being filled with atmospheric or conmion air,) then take ajar CHEMICAL AMUSEMENTS. 13T filled with carbonic acid gas, and invert it over the jar in which the can« die is placed; tb^ effect is very striking; the invisible fluid, being heavier tlian atmospheric air, descends like water, and extinguishes the flame. The whole, to spectators who have no idea of substance without sensible matter, having the appearance of magic. TO MAKE WATER BOIL BY GOLD AND CEASE TO BOIL BY HEAT Half fill a Florence flask with water, place it over a tamp, and let it boil for a few minutes, then cork the mouth of the flask as expeditiously as pos- sible, and tie a slip of moist bladder over the "^ork to exclude the air. The water being now removed from the lamp, the ebullition will cease, but may be renewed by pouring cold water gradually upon the upper part of the flask ; but, if hot water be applied, the boiling instantly ceases* In this manner the ebullition may be renewed, and again made to cease, alternate- ly, by the mere application of hot and cold water. We shall, in this place, be more elaborate than usual, and give our young friends the theory of what causes the above phenomenon. Be it known, then, to all who are not previously acquainted with the fact, that water boils at 212 degrees under the common pressure of our atmosphere : now, if the atmos- phere, or a part of it, were removed, the pressure on the surface would be less, and the consequence would be that water would boil at a much lower temperature ; and this leads us to an explanation of what takes place in the foregoing experiment. We fill a flask half fiill of water, and boil it for a few minutes over a lamp, the steam which rises forces out the atmospheric air;, and occupies its place ; we then remove the lamp, and secure the flask so as to prevent the readmission of atmospheric air. If cold water be now poured over that part of the flask occupied by the steam, the cold will con- dense the steam, which will trickle down the sides of the flask, and mix with the liquor below; the steam being thus condensed, a vacuum is formed above the surface. The water, having then no pressure of atmospheric air or steam, commences boiling afresh; but if hot water be now poured upon it, the steam again occupies the surface, and the boiling ceases. A LIQ,UID PRODUCED FROM TWO SOLIDS. Mix equal portions of sulphate of soda and acetate of lead, both in fine powder : let them be well rubbed together in a mortar, when the two solids will operate upon each other, and a fluid will be produced. A SOLID PRODUCED FROM TWO LIQUIDS. If a saturated solution of muriate of lime be mixed with a saturated solu- tion of carbonate of potash, (both transparent liquids.) the result is the forma- 138 CHEMICAL AMUSEMENTS. tion of an opaque and almost solid mass. If a little nitric acid be added to the product, the solid mass will be changed to a transparent fluid. These two last experiments were formerly called chemical miracles, but the present scientific age no longer consider them so, it being now well ascertained that the changes which take place are occasioned by chemical decomposition, or the action of one salt upon another. THE LITTLE GAS-FACTOR. Put a little coal into the bowl of a common tobacco-pipe, stop the mouth of it up with clay, and place the bowl in a fire ; as soon as the coal becomes heated, a small stream of gas will issue from the top of the pipe. If he put a candle to it, the gas Avill light and burn for sometime, sufficiently brilliant to illuminate the study of Kf)t little as^an^fHttov. DRAUGHTS, OR CHECKERS To teach his grandson Draughts, then, His leisure heM employ, Until at last Jhe old man Was beaten by the boy. Draughts is a game which it is well to learn prior to commencing chess ; though by far inferior to that noble pastime, it is at once unobjec- tionable and amusing. As in the case of chess, bets are seldom made upon the game of Draughts ; it cannot therefore, be deemed, in any measure, conducive to gambling, which we most earnestly entreat our young readers, on all possible occasions, to avoid, as they value their present comfort and future welfare. The game of Draughts is said to be of great antiquity, but we cannot dis- cover that it was much known in Europe until the middle of the sixteenth century. In the year 1668, an elaborate treatise on the game was published by a Parisian professor of mathematics, named Mallet. Mr. Payne, a cel- ebrated writer on this subject, is said to have copied many of Mallet's games ; but both Payne and Mallet have been materially imjMoved upon by a later writer, Mr. Sturges. The present treatise, we trust, will rentier any 140 DRAUGHTS. reference to the above, or any other writers upon Draughts, Superfluous, except to the most curious and finished adepts in the game. RULES FOR PLAYING. In playing Draughts, the table must be placed with an upper white corner toward the right hand ; and for the sake of playing the following games and preliminary practice, the num- bers may be written upon the board itself, near a corner of each square ; or a table may be drawn upon a card, and the squares numbered, as in the fig- ure : such a table will be a ready guide to any move directed. The game is played by two persons, each of whom takes a set oftwelve men of different col- ors, generally white and black, but they may be of any colors, according to the fancy. One player, of course, takes all the men of one color, and the other all those of the other color. The black pieces are to be placed on the first twelve white squares, and the white on the last twelve white squares, or viceversa. When the pieces are thus placed, each player alternately moves one of his men forward, angularly, to the next white square ; and wlien moved to a square adjoining to an enemy, and another square next angularly behind the man so moved is unoccupied at that time, or afterward becomes so, then the man so placed or left unguarded must be captured by the enemy, Avhose man leaps over to the vacant square, and the prisoner is taken off the board. The same practice is immediately to be repeated in case the man effecting a capture thereby gets situated angularly fronting an enemy, and is unguarded behind. When any man gets onward to the last row opposite to that from whence his color started, then he becomes a king, and is crowned by his adversary placing another man, previously taken prisoner, upon him j he may then move and take either backward or forward. In order that the moves may be more perfectly understood, we request attention to the following directions : the men should be placed on the board precisely as they appear in the cut in the next page, with this difference only, that the white pieces may be placed where the black stand, and the black where the white are, according to the fancy of the players. The men being thus posted, we will suppose that white has the first move. As only BJ^B^B^ iM'MjJM'm B 9 B 10 ^B 11 B 12 13 B 14 B 15 B 16 B B 17 B 18 B 19 B 20 21 B 22 B 23 B 24 B B 25 B 26 B 27 B 28 29 m 30 Q 31 2 32 m DRAUGHTS. 141 one of the front rank can be moved, he must either move the man on 21, to 17 ^ that on 22, to 17 or 18 ; that on 23, to 18 or 19 ; or, that on 24, to 1 9 or 20. From 22 to 18 is supposed to be the best first move ; we will, therefore, imagine that white makes it. It is black's turn to move a piece ; he, like his adversary, can only advance one of his front rank men ; he may move the man on 9, to 13 or 14 ; that on 10, to 14 or 15 ; that on 11, to 15 or 16 ; and that on 12, to 16 only. The white having moved from 22 to 18, the black then may move, if he please, from 11 to 15. In the next move, the white man on 18, will take the man so placed by black on 15, by leaping over his head into 11. It is now black's turn to move, and he, in return, can take white's man which stands in 11, by either of the men standing on 7 or 8. In case he makes the capture with 7, he jumps over the head of the man to be taken, into 16 ; if he prefer taking him with 8, the move, for that pur- pose, is from 8 to 15. An op- portunity, here occurs, of giving a practical explanation of the huff. Supposing, when black had moved from 11 to 15, white had omitted to take him, in the manner we have just explained, and made some other move, white, in this case, would have " stood the huff:" that is, black might have taken away the white man that stood on 18, or compelled white to have taken him, which he pleased. This is " standing the huff;" and, be it recollected, that so taking off the man from 18, is not to be con- sidered as a move, black having his move after having so done, before white can move again. In case the game were in a more advanced state, and that the black man, which, at the beginning, stood on 4, had been removed, the white man on 18, instead of taking only the black man on 15, would have taken the black man on 8, in addition, by leaping over 15 into 11, and over 8 into 4, which would be reckoned as one move. In this case, the man in 4, having reached one of the back squares of the enemy, (1, 2, 3, and 4,) he becomes a king, and black crowns him, by placing one of white's captured men on his head. The piece can now move, and take either backward or forward, and is of great importance. As many of the black men as, in their turn, reach either of the squares, 29, 30, 31, 32, immediately become kings, as in the case of tlie white men reaching 1, 2, 3, or 4, and, of course, have equal powers. 142 . DRAUGHTS. We will now give a practical example or two of the " kingly powers " of fliese " crowned heads. " Supposing a black king stood on 29, a white king on 25, a white man on 18, another white king on 19, and a third white king, or a white man, on 27,. — if it were black's move, and the board was clear, except only of the pieces that are mentioned, he would take them all thus : from 29 to 22, taking 25 ; from 22 to 15, taking 18 ; from 15 to 24, taking 19; and from 24 to 31, taking 27. If, however, the black king only take tlie first, second, or third of these pieces, he would stand the huff, (i. e.) the adversary might remove the black king off the board, or compel him to take tlie piece or pieces in his power, at his, the adversary's, pleasure, To show the difference between the moves of a man and a king more clearly, suppose, instead of a king, black had only a man on 29, in that case, the man might go to 22, taking 25, and from 22 to 15, taking 18 ; but here his exploits would end, as he could not move backward from 15 to take 19, but, on the contrary, he must rest on 15 ; and, at the next move, would himself be taken, by the white king, on 19, jumping over his head into 10. When all the men, on one side, are taken, or so hemmed in by the opposite color, that they cannot move, the person who has played them is beaten If, at the latter end of the game, one, two, or three, more or less, of each color, be left on the board, and neither can prevail pn the other to risk, or if one who is weaker than, or has not the move of the other, be determined to go to and fro in safe squares, where he can iiever be taken, the game is called drawn, and given up, neither party winning. The way to give the finishing stroke to a game, where one color has two kings, and the other but one, or where one is, in any respect, a little stronger tlian the other, will be found in the following pages; as also hints for a weak color making a di'awn game, when the stronger adversary is in sucli a situation, as to be unable to get out his pieces to make an attack on the weaker party. LAWS OF DRAUGHTS. The following are a set of laws for the game, which have been sanctioned by the first players of Draughts in the kingdom. 1. Ea.ch player takes the first move alternately, whether the last game be won or drawn. 2. Any action which prevents the adversary from having a full view of the men is not allowed. 3. The player who touches a man must play him. 4. In case of standing the huff, which means omitting to take a man when an opportunity, for so doing, occurred, the other party may either take the man, or insist upon his man, which has been so omitted by hia acU versary being taken. DRAUGHTS. 143 6. If either party, when it is his turn to move, hesitate above three minutes, the other may call upon him to play ; and if, after that, he delay above five minutes longer, then he loses the game. 6. In the losing game, the player can insist upon his adversary taking all the men, in case opportunities should present themselves for their being fio taken. 7. Persons not playing are not to advise, or in any manner interfere witli the game of either party, 8. To prevent unnecessary delay, if one color have no pieces but two kings on the board, and the other no piece but one king, the latter can call upon the former to win the game in twenty moves : if he do not finish it within that number of moves, the game is to be relinquished as drawn. 9. If there be three kings to two on the board, the subsequent moves are not to exceed forty. GAMES FOR PRACTICE. It is now time for us to lead our pupil from theory to practice ; for this purpose we shall proceed to lay before him a few games and situations, which he can either play alone, or with another, on a marked board, such as we have previously described. And here we feel it necessary to remark, that it will not be sufficient merely to go over the moves indicated in the following pages ; by so doing, much time will be lost, and little learned : it is indispensable, if the learner be desirous of obtaining any benefit from these games, tliat he should carefully look to each series of moves, and, if possible, improve upon them as he goes on. The position of a single piece may totally defeat the best attacks, and it is not to be supposed that any two players will ever, except by some extraordinary accident, make all the identical moves, set down in the ensuing games. Still, however, mucli may be done by a few schemes of moves; especially, as toward the end, the positions of the men are very frequently similar, and we feel convinced, that by playing the following few games, (provided proper attention is given to them) an insight into the game may be acquired sooner than by the longest essay on the subject. We strongly recommend the young Draught- player, if he be desirous of speedily acquiring some proficiency in the game, to make himself a perfect master of the ends of, as well as any nice situations that occur in, the following games, so as to be able to play them, as it were, whenever an opportunity may occur. It is the advice of many experienced Draught-players, that learners should provide themselves with a common- place book for noting down any particular situations that may happen in tlieir progress, or such masterly moves, by older hands, as they may have the good fortune to witness. Books for this purpose, containing represen- 144 DRAUGHTS, tations of the board, so that the men placed in tlie proper positions for the moves can be marked in, may be had, reasonably, at the ivory turners. A book of this sort, containing charts of games, and memoranda of moves, by experienced persons, woidd be invahiable to the young Draught-player. We shall reserve any further remarks on Draughts for our concluding ob- servations, and now proceed at once to the tables and games. The letters, N. C. F. T. at the head of each of the games, stand for number, color, from, to. Game i, in which White loses by the twelfth move. N C F T N ^ F T 1 B 11 15 28 W 30 25 2 W 22 18 29 B 29 22 3 B 35 22 SO W 26 17 4 W 25 18 31 B 11 15 5 B 8 11 ! 32 W 20 16 6 W 29 25 83 B 15 18 7 B 4 8 34 W 24 12 8 W 25 22 35 B 18 27 9 B 12 16 36 W 31 24 10 W 24 20 37 B 14 18 11 B 10 15 38 W 16 11 12 W 27 24 39 B 7 16 13 B 16 19 40 W 20 11 14 W 23 16 41 B 18 23 15 B 15 19 42 W 11 8 16 W 24 15 43 B 23 27 17 B 9 14 44 W 8 4 18 W 18 9 45 B 27 31 19 B 11 25 46 W 4 8 20 W 32 27 47 B 81 27 21 B 5 14 48 W 24 20 22 W 27 23 49 B 27 23 23 B 6 10 50 W 8 11 24 W 16 12 51 B 23 18 25 13 8 11 52 W 11 8 26 W 28 24 53 B 18 15 27 B 25 29 &c. W los< 3S. DRAUGHTS. Game 2, a drawn ^ame. 145 N C F T N C F T 1 B 11 15 28 W 30 25 2 W 22 18 29 B 6 9 3 B 15 22 30 W 13 6 4 W 25 18 31 B 1 10 5 B 8 11 32 W 22 13 6 W 29 25 33 B 14 18 7 B 4 8 34 W 23 14 8 W 25 22 35 B 16 SO 9 B 12 16 36 W 25 21 10 W 24 20 37 B 10 17 11 B 10 15 38 W 21 14 12 W 21 17 39 B 30 25 13 B 7 10 40 W 14 9 14 W 27 24 41 B 11 15 15 B 8 12 42 W 9 6 i 16 W 17 13 43 B 2 9 17 B 9 4 44 W 13 18 18 W 18 9 45 B 15 15 19 B 5 14 46 W 6 2 20 W 24 19 47 B 7 10 21 B 15 24 48 W 2 6 22 W 28 19 49 B 10 14 23 B 14 17 50 W 6 9 24 W 32 27 51 B 25 21 25 B 10 14 52 W 31 26 26 W 27 24 53 B 14 17 27. B 3 7 &c. W drawn. j Game 3, whidi is lost by SOth move. N C F T N C F T 1 B 11 15 5 B 10 17 2 W 22 17 6 W 21 14 3 B 9 13 7 B 8 11 ^ W 17 14 8 W 24 19 146 DRAUGHTS. Game 3, continued. N C F T N C F T 9 B 15 24 25 B 16 20 10 W 28 19 26 W 31 27 11 B 11 16 27 B 13 17 12 W 25 21 28 W 30 26 13 B 6 9 29 B 1 6 14 W 29 25 30 W 18 15 15 B 9 18 31 B 20 14 16 W 23 14 32 W 27 20 17 B 16 23 33 B 7 10 18 W 26 19 34 W 14 7 19 B 4 8 35 B 2 27 20 W 25 22 36 W 21 14 21 B 8 11 37 B 6 9 22 W 22 18 38 W 32 23 23 B 11 16 39 B 9 27 24 W 27 23 40 W loses Game 4, which is lost by ] I2th move. N C F T N C F T 1 W 22 18 19 W 21 17 2 B 11 16 20 B 1 6 3 W 25 22 21 W 17 13 4 B 10 14 22 B 3 7 5 W 29 25 23 W 28 24 6 B 16 20 24 B 12 16 7 W 24 19 25 W 26 23 8 B 8 11 26 B 8 12 9 W 19 15 27 W 23 19 10 B 4 8 28 B 16 23 11 W 22 17 29 W 31 26 12 B 7 10 30 B 7 10 13 W 25 22 31 W 26 19 14 B 10 19 32 B 11 16 15 W 7 10 33 W 18 11 16 B 6 15 34 B 16 23 17 W 23 7 35 W 27 18 18 B 2 11 36 B loses, DRAUGHTS. 147 CONCLUDING REMARKS. Even those who have some knowledge of the game of Draughts will, we have no doubt, derive much benefit from a perusal of the foregoing pages, and become enabled to defeat those by whom they have previously been beaten. A person who has never acquired any insight into the game may, we flatter ourselves, from the care which we have taken in preparing the treatise, acquire considerable proficiency, by a proper attention to our rules and instructions. The few remarks which we are about to make, as to one circumstance in Draughts, could not, we conceive, be so aptly introduced anywhere else as here ; we allude to the importance of having the move upon an antago- nist. The value of this will, no doubt, have frequently occurred to the reader, in the course of the preceding games ; but there are situations, when it is not only useless, but detrimental. To have the move when your men are in a proper position, upon an open board, will often, in a, short time, give you the power of forcing your adversary mto such a situation as will render his defeat certain ; but, having the move, when your men are hud- dled in confusion together, and you are unprepared to point an attack from any quarter, that is to say, when you are strong in number, but powerless in position, will, not unfrequently, cause you to lose the game. In order to know whether any one of your men have the move over one of your adversary's, you must carefully notice their respective positions, and, if your opponent have a black square on your right angle under his man, you have the move upon him. This is a general rule, and will apply to any number of pieces. To illustrate it with an instance : if white have a man on 22, it being his turn to play, and black's man be on 11, white has the move. A modern writer on this subject, gives another metliod of ascertain- ing whether a party, whose turn it is to play, has the move ; namely, by counting the squares and the men ; and if the squares be odd, and the men even, or the men odd, and the squares even, then the party whose turn it is to play has possession of the move : thus, if there be a black man on 19, on 26 a white king, on 28 a black king, and on 32 a white man, and white have to play, he has aie move, and may certainly win the game, if he act judiciously ; the opposite party's men being even, and the white squares, be- tween them and his own, odd ; there are three white squares from the black king on 28 to the white king on 26, (viz. 24, 27, and 31,) and between the black man on 19 and the white man on 32, two white squares, 23 and 27, making together, five. White begins by moving his man to 27, the black king goes to 32, the white man proceeds to 24, and is taken by the black man on 19 ; the white king now goes to 23 ; the black king must next step to 27, having no other move, (his man being on 28,) and is taken by the white king, who thus gets into 32, and wins the game, as black cannot move his man^ K2 148 DRAUGHTS. Persons who know but little of this game are sometimes found talking lightly of it, as a trifle undeserving of attention; to such speakers we quote the following passage from Dr. Johnson's dedication of Payne's Book on Draughts ; — " Trifiers may think or make anything a trifle ; but since it is the great characteristic of a wise man to see events in their causes, to obviate consequences, and ascertain contingencies, your lordship will think nothing a trifle by which the mind is inured to caution, foresight, and cir- cumspection. " In conclusion, we beg to assure our young readers, that, simple as it may appear, they will never be able to attain any proficiency in this game, without some study, and much caution. Every move should be well con- sidered before it is taken ; for, although it does not require one tenth of tlie attention necessary to the acquirement of chess, yet it is totally impossible for our young friends to derive much amusement at the game, if they are not as intent on the purpose of their moves, as the Ca.rrier Pigeon in taking his letter to tlie end of his journey. LEGERDEMAIN Leaviiig, at length, the top and taw, We magic learned from sage Breslaw, Flockton, Katterfelto, Jonas, Oyngell, Moon, Prudhoe, and Comas j As conjurors at once to prove us, We vomit fire like Mount Vesuvius. Circumstances of importance, after a man has arrived at the age of maturity, frequently make a much weaker impression on his memory than tlie trifling occurrences of his youthful days. The latter engrave all their little histories on the ** tablet of the brain," and retain all their original dis- tinctness, years and years after those which have subsequently taken place are past away and forgotten, — or, at least, until they have left but a dim and fast-fading record in the *' chamber of the mind." We cannot, if our life depended on it, remember where we first saw the greatest author of tlie day, — nor when, within three or four years, we first shook the " great captam of the age" by the hand ; but the memory of that moment, which revealed to our delighted young gaze the mountebank in all his glory of grimace, is as fresh within us, nay, more so, than if it were only a fruition of the last past hour. The recollection of an event, one of the most weighty and influential, perhaps, of our whole life, which took place some ten years ago, or thereabout, has almost departed from us ; we cannot, mentally, and without a blunder, con it over fact by fact in regular order, as we often do the first exhibition of Legerdemain that we ever witnessed; — we see only disjointed portions of it huddled confusedly together — the shadow of tlie event, vague and indistinct as the morning vapor, flits occasionally befoMB 150 LEGERDEMAIN. our mind's eye, but the substance itself is almost buried in oblivion ; — while every feature of that seeming magician, who swallowed fire — kept it alive and brilliant below the surface of water, — enacted other feats of apparent dominion over the elements, — caused dumb figures to give proper answers to all sorts of questions, — padlocked an urchin's cheek, — and in a hundred ways cheated our eyes, before we had well worn out our second suit of boy'a clothes, — i^ as well remembered, as though we had never ceased to look upon him. He has long since been dead — his body is no more ; but in an instant we can conjure up his image, as he stood before us, smiling conten- tedly, while bathing his hands in molten lead ! The very order of the won- ders he performed has not yet escaped us, and we doubt not, but that should we live to be gray-headed, we shall ever be able to tell the color of his eyes, — the precise position of a mole which he had on his face, — the first, second, third, fourth, and so on, up to the twentieth feat which he exhibited. He was an itinerant quack doctor's Jack Pudding, — a mountebank, as we after- wards ascertained ; but, at that time, we had not the least idea of who or what he could be. It was evident, to our unpractised eye, that he was not a mere mortal ; for, no man, as we thought, innocent as we were, could by any possibility conjure a shilling, which we held fast in our hand, into one of our little school-fellows' pockets, or make a haberdasher's shop of his mouth, and draw from it dozens upon dozens of yards of ribbons of all colors, and at the option of those around him; we could not conceive that human flesh could withstand red-hot iron, or that any power short of witchcraft could re- move a thing from before our eyes, which were all the time earnestly fixed on it, without our seeing its motion. What virtue was there, we reasoned thus, in " Hiccus doctius !" when uttered by the lips of another 1 But no sooner did he pronounce those mysterious words, than money danced about as if it possessed life. Would " Crinkum Bovis, Domine Jovis I" restore a chicken to life after its head was cut oiF, were the phrase to come from any but him 1 It was clearly impossible. What could he be then 1 Certainly not a mere mortal ; and if not — what was he 1 Here we were as much involved and puzzled in conjecture, as a grave philosopher upon some learn- ed and abstruse problem. The feat which mystified us most was this : — He apparently devoured a piece of raw meat, and then actually, as it seemed to us, swallowed a quantity of fire, as he said, to dress it — thus making his stomach its own cook, and his inside, a kitchen ! Remembering, as we do, the delight we felt at this, our first glance at Legerdemain, and the pleasure which we afterwards derived on sundry occasions during the youthful period of our life, from similar, but still more astonishing and scientific exhibitions, as well as the gratification it frequently afforded us, when a boy, to play off certain feats of conjuring, which we had learned from a highly-talented professor ; and knowing, as we well do, that the youthful mind is, as ours once was, fond of this sort of recreations, we LEGERDEMAIN. 151 sliall bestow even more than our usual pains in making this article as rich and complete as can be consistent with the nature of our work. We thmk that it would be by no means rasli in us to pledge ourselves, that there is no superior treiitise on Legerdemain to be obtained ; it is true, tliat there are a few more bulky ones, but they contain so much useless matter, and accounts of tricks which it is impossible to perform at all, or, at any rate, by the rude, antiquated instructions which tney afford, that one half of tliem is useless. The following pages will, we trust, be found to contain everything that is valuable in this art, unencumbered with dross. We have brought a tolerable share of knowledge on this matter, to the preparation of "Feats of Legerdemain ;" we have also gleaned the cream of several old and scarce works, and translated many clioice recreations from foreign publications on tills subject. Several friendly contributions have been afforded to us ; and what is of the greatest value, we have been favored w4th the assistance of some eminent and highly popular professors of the art ; so that, we are en- abled to present to our young readers a collection of conjuring tricks, which is at once copious and select. Our object has been, not only to facilitate tlie acquisition of such a variety of amusing feats, as wiil render him, who is enabled to exhibit them, a parlor magician, but also to instruct our young readers in the mode of performing several master-pieces of Legerdemain, which requiie considerable agility, and expensive apparatus, so that they may understand the means of effecting the apparent wonders displayed by tlie public professors of the arc. In addition to the Feats of Legerdemain, we have devoted several of our pages to descriptions of various Automata and Androides, which have been exhibited to the public. The Marion- nettes, or figures, whose motions are governed by strings, are too simple for a lengthened notice : it is true, that, among the ancients, they were deemed of importance sufficient to be exhibited in their public shows, — ^but they are now mere toys, of which every lad knows the construction ; for there are few who have not at one time or other possessed, played with, and dissected a pasteboard harlequin, or a bleeding nun. An improvement has lately been made on these juvenile Marionettes, which, while we are on this subject, is perhaps deserving of notice. The limbs, body, and head of a comic figure, are drawn and colored on a piece of paper, cut out, and gummed separately to a piece of card of similar dimensions ; they are then united by bits of thread, which, acting as hinges, suffer them to play loosely, and in various directions, when tlie body is moved. A piece of dark twine is fastened, by its middle, to the back of the body ; the ends are tied, by a boy, just below his two knees ; he sits, on a low stool, in a dark place, with a ligni on the ground, a little in front of him — the spectators standing at some distance from the light. By moving his knees quickly to and from each other, a variety of grotesque motions is given to the Marionnette, whicli dances, apparently, without assistance. 152 LEGERDEMAIN. We doubt not but tliat this part of the work will be a favorite amuse- ment with our readers, and that it will afford much innocent amusement during the long evenings of winter, around the comfortable parlor fire, to many a little social circle. Such is our end and intent; and we assure those who amuse themselves, whether alone or in society, with these Feats of Legerdemain, that they are indulging only in what is often instructive, generally agreeable, and always innocent. We must detain our readers from the practical instructions, to make a few more observations, which are necessary, as well on our own behalf as for their benefit. We wish it to be remembered, that in addition to the matter contained under this title, many excellent scientific recreations, which will be accounted capital conjuring tricks, are to be found in the preceding pages, among the Chemical, Arithmetical, and Optical Amusements, and elsewhere in the work ; where they are more properly placed than they would be here ; and to these we take leave to refer those who have an in- clination to become " Magiciens de Societe." THE POISED PENNY. Place a smooth card on the tip of the middle finger of your left hand, and on it, nicely balanced, and with its centre exactly over your finger's point, a penny-piece. Then, by a smart fillip with the middle finger of your right hand, you may strike away the card fi'om under the penny, leaving the lat- ter poised on the tip of your finger. A very little practice will enable you to do this trick without ever failing. The card must be carefully struck, so as to drive it straight off the finger; if you fillip it upward, it will, of course, take the penny with it. ( Vide cut at head.) WATER BEWITCHED. Pour some water into a plate, light a bit of loosely-crumpled paper, and throw it into a glass ; then turn the glass upside down, with the burning paper in it, in the plate, and the water will gradually rise from the plate into the glass, until the latter becomes half full, so that the smface of the water it contains is much higher than that of what is left in the plate. FIRE UNDER WATER. Fasten a small bit of wood across the mouth of a glass, stick therein a piece of candle lighted, and, with a steady hand, convey the mouth to tlie surface of the water ; then push it carefully down, and the candle will burn imder the water; you may even bring the candle up again lighted. In the same manner, you may put a handkerchief, rolled tightly together, and it will not be wet. LEGERDEMAIN 15S Tlie principal art in performing this trick, consists in the nicety of bringing the mouth of the glass exactly level with the surface of the water ; for, if you put it in the least on one side, the water will rush in, and con- sequently put out the candle, or, in tlie other case, wet the handkerchief;, so that a nice eye and steady hand are necessarily requisite for this per- formance. THE SENTINEL EGG. Lay a looking-glass upon an even table ; take a fresh egg, and shake it for sometime, so that the yolk may be broken and mixed up with the white* You may then, witli a steady hand, balance it on its point, and make it stand on the glass. This it would be impossible to do while the egg was in its natural state. THE BRIDGE OF KNIVES. To erect the bridge of knives, you must first place three glasses, or small cups at the corners of a supposed triangle, and about tlie length of one of the knives you use distant from each other, upon a table, the floor, or any even surface. Then take three knives, and arrange them upon the glasses in the manner represented by the cut. The blade of No. 1 (as you may perceive by inspecting the engrav- ing) goes over that of No. 2, and the blade of No. 2 passes across that of No. 3, which rests on that of No. 1. The knives being placed in this position, their blades will support each other. EATABLE CANDLE-ENDS. Peel some large apples that are rather of a yellow tint ; cut several pieces out of them in the shape of a candle-end, round, of course, at tlie bottom, and square at the top ; in fact, as much as possible, like a candle that has burnt down within an inch or so. Then, cut some slips out of the insides of sweet almonds, fashion them as much in the shape of sperma- ceti wicks as you can, stick them into your mock candles, light them for an instant, so as to make their tops black, blow them out again, and they are ready for use. When you produce them, light them, (the almond will readily take fire, and flame for a few moments,) put them into your mouth, chew and swallow them one after another. This may well be called the juggler's dessert. 154 LEGERDEMAIN, THE LITTLE FLOATING BEACON. Fasten a piece of lead to the end of a candle which has been half burnt; place it very gently in the water, so that it may find its proper equilibrium ; then light it, and it will burn to the end without sinking. THE RINGS AND RIBBONS. Take two pieces of ribbon, precisely alike in length, breadth, and color; double each of them, separately, so that their ends meet ; then tie them to- gether very neatly, with a bit of silk of their own color, by the middle, or crease made in doubling them. This must all be done beforehand. When you are going to exhibit this trick, pass some rings on the doubled ribbons, and give the two ends of one ribbon to one person to hold, and the two ends of the other to another. Do not let them pull hard, or the silk will break, and your trick be discovered by the rings falling on the ground, on account of the separation of the ribbons. Request the two persons to approach each other, and take one end fi'om each of them, and without their perceiving it, return to each of them the end which the other had previously held. By now giving the rings, which appeared strung on tlie ribbon, a slight pull, you may break the silk, and they will fall into your hand. THE THUMB-STRING. This is a very simple trick, but by performing it quickly, you may surprise and puzzle a spectator very considerably. Wind a piece of string round your thumb, thus : — Let one end of it (a) drop between the thumb and fore-finger of your left hand ; then wind the other part, which you retain in your right hand, two or three times round your thumb; next, make a little loop (b) with the same end, which hold between your finger and thumb. Now let go the end, (c) and take hold of the end, (a) which you must have left about six or eight inches long, and you may make a spectator fancy you pass it through the loop, and take hold of it again, when so passed itlirough, in the twinkling of an eye. To increase the sm-prise, you may make the loop as small as possible. This apparent piece of manual dex- terity is performed by passing that end of the string marked a, as quickly as possible round the top of the thumb, so as to come between the fore-finger and thumb : it will thus get into the loop, and you will seem to have passed the end through it. LEGERDEMAIN. 155 WINE UPON WATER. Half fill a glass with water, throw a bit of the crumb of a loaf into it, about the size of a nut, pour some wine lightly on the bread, and you will see the water at the bottom of the glass, and the wine floating at the top of it. THE conjuror's JOKE. Take a ball in each hand, and stretch your hands as far as you can-, one from the other ; then state that you will contrive to make both the balb come into either hand, without bringing the hands near each other. If any one dispute your power of doing this, you have no more to do, than to lay one ball down upon the table, turn yourself, and take it up with your other hand. Thus both the balls will be in one of your hands, without their ap- proaching each other. THE PERILOUS GOBLET, To fill a glass with water, so that no one may touch it without spilling adl the water. Fill a common wine-glass or goblet with water, and place upon it a bit of paper, so as to cover tlie water and edge of the glass ; put the palm of your hand on the paper, and taking hold of the glass with the other, suddenly invert it on a very smooth table, and gently draw out the paper ; the water will remain suspended in the glass> and it will be impossible to move the glass, without spilling all the water. THE ENCHANTED COCK. Bring a cock into a room with both your hands close to his vikings, and hold them tight ; put him on a table, and point his beak down as straight as possible ; then let any one draw a line, with a piece of chalk, directly from its beak, and all the noise you can possibly make will not disturb him, for some time, from the seeming lethargy, which that position you have laid him in has effected. TO LIGHT A CANDLE BY SMOKE. When a candle is burnt so long as to leave a tolerably large wick, blow it out; a dense smoke, which is composed of hydrogen and carbon, will immediately arise. Then, if another candle, or lighted taper, be applied to the utmost verge of this smoke, a very strange phenomenon will take place ; the flame of the lighted candle will be conveyed to that just blown out, as if it were borne on a cloud, or, rather, it will seem like a mimic flash of lighte- ning proceeding at a slow rate. 166 LEGERDEMAIN. THE WONDERFUL RE-ILLUMINATION. After having exhibited the trick of lighting a candle by smoke, privately put a bit of paper between your fingers, and retire to one corner of the room with a single candle, and pass the hand, in which you hold the paper, several times slowly over the candle, until the paper takes fire ; then imme- diately blow the candle out, and pre- sently, pass your hand over the snuff, and relight it with the paper. You may then crumple the paper, at the same time extinguishing the fiame, by squeezing it suddenly, witliout burning yourself. If this trick be performed dexterously, it is a very good one. It is not necessary for the performance of this trick that all the otlier lights in the room should be extinguished ; in fact, the trick is more liable to a discovery in a dark room, than in one where the candles are burning, on account of the light thrown out by the paper while it is burning, previous to the re-illumination. TO SUSPEND A RING BY A BURNT THREAD. The thread having been previously soaked two or three times in common gait and water, tie it to a ring, not larger than a wedding ring. When yon apply the flame of a candle to it, though the thread burn to ashes, it wiH yet sustain the ring. THE ANIMATED SIXPENCE. To make a sixpence leap out of a pot. This is done by means of a long black horse-hair, fastened to the rim of a sixpence, by a small hole driven tln-ough it. This feat should be done by night, with a candle placed be- tween the spectators and the operator, their eyes being thereby hindered from discerning the deception. THE FASCINATED BIRD. Take any bird, and lay it on a table ; then wave a small feather over its eyes, and it will appear as dead, but taking the feather away, it will re- vive again. Let it lay hold of the stem part of the feather, and it will twist and turn like a parrot ; you may likewise roll it about, on the table, just as you please. LEGERDEMAIN 157 TO LIFT A BOTTLE WITH A STRAW. Take a straw, and having bent the thicker end of it in a sharp angle^ as the figure subjoined, put this curved end into a bottle, so that the bent part may rest against its side ; you may then take the other end and lift up the bot- tle by it, without breaking the straw, and this will be the more readily accomplished as the angular part of the straw approaches nearer to that which comes out of the bottle. It is necessary, in order to succeed in this feat to be particularly careful in choosing a stout straw, which is neither broken nor bruised ; if it have been previously bent or damaged, it is unfit for the purpose of performing this trick, as it will be too weak in the part so bent, or damaged, to support the bottle. THE MOVING PYRAMID. Roll up a piece of paper, or other light substance, and privately put into it any small insect, such as a lady-bird, or beetle ; then, as the creature will naturally endeavour to free itself from captivity, it will move its covering towards the edge of the table, and when it comes there, will immediately return, for fear of falling ; and thus, by moving backward and forward, will excite much diversion to those who are ignorant of the cause. THE PAPER FURNACE. Enclose a bullet in paper, as smoothly as possible, and suspend it above the flame of a lamp or candle ; you will soon see it begin to melt and fall, drop by drop, through a hole which it will make in the paper ; but the pa- per, except the hole mentioned, will not be burnt. The art of performing this trick consists in using a smooth round bullet, and enclosing it in the paper with but few folds or uneven places. THE BOTTLE EJECTMENT. Fill a small white glass bottle, with a very narrow neck, fiiU of wine 5 place it in a glass vase, which must previously have sufficient water in it to rise above the mouth of the bottle. Immediately, you will perceive the wine rise, in the form of a little column, toward the surface of the water, and tlie water will, in the meantime, begin to take the place of the wine at the bot- tom of the bottle. The cause of this is, that the water is heavier than tlie wine, which it displaces, and forces to rise toward tine surface. 158 LEGERDEMAIN. THE BALANCED STICK. Procure a piece of wood about tlie length of your hand, half an inch duck, and twice as broad ; within a siiort distance of one end of this piece, thrust in the points of the blades of two penknives of equal weight, in such a manner, that one of them may incline to one side, the second to the other, as represented by the cut in the margin. If its other ex- tretnity be placed on the tip of the finger, the stick will keep itself up- right without falling ; and if it be made to incline, it will raise itself again and recover its former situ- ation. This is a very pretty per- formance, and, if properly man- aged, cannot fail to excite some surprise in the minds of those who behold it for the first time, as the knives, instead of appearing to balance the stick, which they in fact do, will rather appear to increase the diliiculty of the feat. STORM AND CALM. Pour water into a glass until it is nearly three parts full ; then almost fill it up with oil ; but, be sure to leave a little space between the oil and the top of the glass. Tie a bit of string round the glass, and fasten the two ends of another piece of string to it, one on each side, so that, when you take hold of the middle of it to lift up the glass, it may be about a foot from your hand. Now swing the glass to and fro, and the oil will be smooth and unruffled, while the surface of the water beneath it will be violently agitated. THE TRAVELLING EGG. Take a goose's egg, and, after opening and cleansing it, put a bat into the shell ; glue it fiist on the top, and the bat wdll cause the egg to move about in a manner that will excite much astonishment. THE DOUBLED COIN. Half fill a glass of water, and put a shilling or a sixpence into it ; cover the glass with a plate, upon which, place one hand, while you hold the glass with the other ; turn the glass upside down, so that none of the water may escape ; place it on a table, and you will see the coin, at the bottom, laiger than it is in reality, and another will appear, of the natiural size, a iittle above it. LEGERDEMAirsT. 159 THE toper's tripod. A trick similar to the Bridge of Knives may be performed hj tliree* tobacco-pipes, in the following manner : — Procm-e three common tobacco- pipes ; place the hollow part of the bowl of one of them on the table, as No. 1, and let its stem be supported by another, placed at No» 2; then put the other pipe across Nos. 1 and 2, (as No. 3,) so that its bowl end may support the stem of No. 2, and its own stem rest on the bowl end of No. 3. This little tripod^ although eon^tructed of such brittle materials, will^ if careful- ly put together, support a jug of foaming October. When used to show that it will support a weight, the three bowls should be brought considerably closer together than as represented im the marginal cut, so that the bottom of the jug may rest upon all three of the stems. the knotted thread. Considerable amusement, not unmixed with wonder, may be occasioned among a party of ladies, by a clever performance of this trick. It is most frequently performed by a female, but the effect of it is considerably increas- ed when it is displayed by a boy. A piece of calico, muslin, or linen, is taken in the left hand, a needle is threaded in the presence of the spectators^ and the usual, or even a double or treble knot made at the extremity of one of the ends of it. The operator commences his work by drawing the needle and the thread in it quite through the linen, notwithstanding the knot, and continues to make several stitches in like manner successively. The mode of performing this seeming wonder, is as follows : a bit of tfiread, about a quarter of a yard long, is turned once round the top of th& middle finger of the right hand, upon which a thimble is then placed to keep it secure. This must be done privately and the thread kept concealed^ while a needle is threaded with a bit of thread of a similar length. The thread in the needle must have one of its ends drawn up nearly close, and be concealed between the fore-finger and thumb; the other should hang dovvD/- nearly as long as, and by the side of the thread, which is fastened under tlie thimble, so that these two may appear to be the two ends of the thread. The end of the piece that is fastened under the thimble is then knotted, and the performer begins to sew, by moving his hand quickly after he ]ias ta- ken up the stitch. It will appear as though he actually passed t^ knotted thread through the cloth. 160 LEGERDEMAIN. THE BOTTLE IMPS. Get three little hollow figures of glass, an inch and a half high, representing imps, or Harlequin, Co- lumbine, and Pantaloon, which may be obtained at the glass-blowers, with a small hole in each of their legs. Immerge them into water contained in a glass bottle, which should be about fifteen inches high, and covered with a blad- der tied fast over" the top. A small quantity of air must be left between the bladder and the surface of the water. When you think fit to command the figures to go down, press _ your hand hard upon the ^ top, and they will imme- diately sink; when yon ___ would have them rise to liiiililiiliiiiliSlliiiilllilllllllltiilllillllllllli the top, take your hand away, and they will float ap. By these means, you may make them dance in the middle of the glass Rt your pleasure. THE BIRD IN THE BOX. Get a box made with a false lid, on which glue some bird-seed ; privately put a bird into it, under the false lid; then show it, and it will seem to be full of seed. Piit on the true lid, and say, — " I will command all the seed out of this box, and order a living bird to appear." Then, take oflf tlie covers together, and the bird will be seen. THE MULTIPLYING MIRROR. This feat must be performed with a looking-glass made on purpose ; the manner of making it is this :•— First, make a hoop, or fillet of wood or horn, about the size of a half-crown piece in circumference, and about a quarter of an inch in thickness. In the middle, fasten a bottom of wood or brass, and bore in H several small holes, about the size of peas ; then open one side of this bottom, set in a piece of crystal-glass, and fasten it in the hoop close to LEGERDEMAIN. 16! tlie bottom. Take a quantity of quicksilver, and put us much Into tlie hoop ks will cover the bottom; then let into it another piece of crystal-glass, fitted^ to it ; cement the sides, that the (juickJilver may not ran out, and the appa- ratus is complete. One side will reflect the beholder's face as a common iooking-glass ; in the other it will be multiplied according to tlie number ■of holes in the wood or brass. thp: bogle bodkin. Take a hollow bodkin, (or, if you prefer it, a dagger,) »o that the blade may slip into the handle as soon as the point is held upward. Seem to thrust h into yom' fweliead, (or, if a dagger, into your bosom,) then, after showmg some appearance of pain;, pull away your hand suddenly, holding tise point downward, and it will fall out, and appear not to have been thrust into the liaft ; but, immediately afterv/ard, throw the bodkin, or dagger, into your Jap or pocket, and pull out another plain one like it, which will completely ^ieceive the spectatoi^. THE PRANCING DRAGOON, Cut out the figure of a Dragoon, mounted, in wood ; let the hoi'se he m a prnnciiig position : put the hind- legs on the edge of a table, and it will, of course, fall off ^ but you can prevent it from so doing, by adding to its weight. F