Page:The American Boy's Handy Book edition 1.djvu/338

There will frequently occur gaps, in the long winter evenings, that are hard to fill up satisfactorily, hours when, tired of reading or study, a boy does not know what to do. Again, occasionally through the winter one's companions and friends are likely to drop in and spend an evening. The most accomplished host is at times at a loss to know how to entertain his company, after the old, worn, threadbare games have been repeated until they have become monotonous and tiresome.

To the filling of these gaps, and for the relief of the worried host, I propose to devote a limited space and chapter in explaining and suggesting some novelties in the way of in-door amusements.

is a comparatively new game, which, in the hands of a smart boy or a fluent speaker, can be rendered entertaining, startling, or boisterously funny. The company, seated at a long table in a very dimly lighted room, must be particularly requested to keep their hands under the table, pay strict attention to the tourist, and maintain a solemn silence. The tourist, from the head of the table, commences his narrative something as follows:

"In the year 1867 I was travelling in Egypt, having been commissioned by a certain scientific association to procure for them as perfect a specimen of a mummy as I could find. I