Adelia B. Beard

“ MINGLING with the festivities of May day in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries were certain games intended to represent the adventures of Robin Hood, that bold forest chieftain who with his band of merry men, all clad in Lincoln green, held many a contest with bow and arrows; and though most of them were masters of the sport, none could quite equal the leader, Robin Hood.
From certain customs of these bygone days we can evolve a delightful entertainment and call it the Twentieth Century May day. ”

“ Discovered, developed, and still, in many cases, carried on by women, surely pottery is a woman's art, and as a girl inheriting the old instincts, you may find it the simplest and most natural means of expressing your individuality and love of the beautiful. Beginning as these gentle savages began, using their primitive method, you may be inspired to study deeper into the art, and perhaps become the discoverer of some new process that will give to the world a still more beautiful pottery. ”

“ With its unfamiliar terms to be committed to memory and the many parts of the flower to be distinguished, botany is apt to prove dry and tiresome to the little child, but to study nature by copying the flowers in this marvellously adaptable material is only a beautiful game which every child, and indeed many grown people, will delight in. The form of the flower, its name and color, may, by this means, be indelibly stamped upon the memory, and a good foundation laid for further study. ”

“ All Japan is alive and anxious to celebrate the occasion. Quaint flags in the shape of enormous [170] fish swim in the air and float over the towns, forming bright masses of color. Every home that is blessed with one or more boys displays a fish banner for each son, the younger the child the larger the fish, and the proudest house is the one that can boast of the greatest number of fish flying from its bamboo pole. Every Japanese boy's birthday is celebrated on this day with great rejoicing, no matter at what time of the year he was born.
Fig. 293.—Boy's birthday pole. ”

“ Closely packed flowers should have no foliage; chrysanthemums, one species of the brilliant poppy and the sweet-pea need none, but there are few others that do not show better amid green leaves.
While flowers of different varieties seldom look well together, you may sometimes add much to its beauty by giving a flower the foliage of another plant, and a trailing green vine will often be just the touch needed to soften a stiff arrangement. ”

“ All the bags should be tied on a strong string, forming a fringe of bags stretched across the room. The young people should draw lots for first choice of the fortune bags, then each player in turn must point to the bag selected, no one being allowed to touch a bag until the leader has clipped it from the string. Only one bag can be given out and opened at a time, in order that all may see and enjoy the contents of each separate fortune. All young people enjoy the fun of trying their fortunes. ”

“ The stems of the seed-grasses are the spokes, the long grass the weaver. Turn the blossom-ends down, the stem-ends up, and close to where it is tied, begin to weave the long grass in and out, under one spoke, over the next, under the third, over the fourth, going around and around spirally until the end of the weaver is reached, then tie it to one of the spokes. Keep forcing the spokes farther and farther apart as you weave until the holder is shaped like a cone. As you see in the illustration, the weaver never passes over one of the spokes twice in succession. ”

“ Go where the sky is bluest, where winter is changed to summer, where the wild mocking-bird, the Kentucky cardinal, the scarlet tanager, the blue jay and a host of other birds are on most friendly terms with girls and boys. Go where the wild squirrels live unmolested in the beautiful great live-oaks, whose branches are hung with long, soft gray moss which swings and sways with the slightest breeze. ”

“ If he was only alive, he could coil himself up into a prickly ball—not a ball, though, that one could handle without being hurt. This little fellows differs from the Hystrix cristata, or real porcupine, in that he did not wait until his quills grew to turn into a ball, but was a ball to begin with, for he commenced life as an apple, and an apple is one of the nicest kinds of balls, as it may be tossed back and forth and then eaten later. ”

“ The first child, or Number One, takes three steps forward and, aiming at the bell in one of the hoops, throws the ball with the purpose of sending it through the hoop and at the same time striking the bell hard enough to make it ring. If successful, Number One is given a favor, to be pinned to the front of the coat or dress, as the case may be, the color of the ribbon attached to the favor being in accordance with the color of the hoop through which the ball passed. As it is more difficult to send the ball through the hoops in the second row, the white-ribboned favors confer the most honor. ”

“ Gold Nuggets
nearer home; possibly you may have to work a little for the precious metal, but the exertion will be only fun. Ten little fairies—your ten fingers—will cheerfully supply the gold as well as the mine from which the nuggets must come on the eventful night. The fairies should make a number of small gold parcels which when finished form the nuggets (Fig. 432) . Inside of each package is a piece of candy and a strip of paper with a fortune written upon it, so whatever may be the fate sent by the gnomes in the mine, it is sure to be sweet. ”

“ I THINK one must really love the flowers in order to arrange them perfectly. If you love them you will feel in sympathy with them, and that alone will help you to understand what is needed to bring out and emphasize their exquisite beauty. Yet some knowledge of the rules that govern the best arrangement of flowers is necessary also, for it saves many experiments and makes the pretty task much more enjoyable and satisfactory. ”

“ Their object is to head off and catch the hares before they can cover the given distance and again reach the place of meeting. A hound must not only come in sight of a hare but must touch her in order to make a catch. Each player in the paper chase acts for herself, and if she succeeds in catching a hare she wins the honors. And a hare reaching home without being caught wins great honor. The hares keep together, but the hounds may scatter at will, though no girl should risk going too far alone. ”

“ Only a short while will remain before it will be time for returning home, a few moments more for tumbling about close to Nature; then comes the ride back home in the big wagon filled with gay and happy girls and boys. ”

“ At a given signal each boy and girl must close both eyes tight and make a wish, not opening the eyes until the leader calls out "Look," when all may scan the blue heavens and the surrounding country in search of birds. ”

“ If you are not strong enough to erect the house by yourself, ask some companions to lend a hand and help sink the stick firmly in the earth. When this is accomplished stretch out each length of twine in turn and drive the peg in the ground (Fig. 503) . You will need a wide ruffle on the edge of the umbrella of some kind of material full enough to reach around the [301] outer circle of pegs on the ground beneath its lower edge. The stretched twine will hold the ruffle out, forming an odd little playhouse with a smooth, round roof and drapery walls. ”

“ Cut it into a circle an inch and a half in diameter, with an extension for the handle (Fig. 180) . Glue the free end of the handle on the opposite side of the back of the shield. Make ten paper eagle feathers (Fig. 181) , hang seven on the bottom of the shield with red thread, after first [122] decorating the centre of the shield with given designs and the edge with colored bands, using any or all of the following colors, but no others: positive red, blue for the sky, green for the grass, yellow for the sun, white for the clouds and snow, and black. To the Indian color is a part of religion. ”

“ If you examine the face of the next red man you see, or the picture of one, you will probably find that he has two deep, decided lines from his nose to his mouth, and that the mouth itself is firm and straight. Remember these hints when making the Indian's head. Select a dark-red apple, one that is rather long and narrow, if possible, for [210] the red man seldom has a round face. Cut two eyes of white paper and pin them on the apple with black-headed pins pierced through the centre of each eye. Make the long nose of paper (Fig. 371) . ”

“ With the old handicrafts coming back into favor and new ones constantly being brought forward, a girl's life may be full of delightful employment. To work with joyous enthusiasm and self-reliant energy, as well as to play with light-hearted enjoyment, cannot fail to make her sensible, wholesome, and happy, and it is with this end in view that we have written and illustrated the book. ”

“ In the careful arrangement of flowers your object should always be to bring out their whole beauty, and let all else be secondary to that. One vase, though beautiful in itself, may not be at all suitable for holding flowers, while another, of no value as an ornament, will display them to their best advantage. ”

“ Paste fringed yellow paper around each of the chieftain's feet, fringed edge uppermost, to serve as moccasins. Part the Indian's hair at the back, bring the two divisions in front, one on each side of the head, and wind each with scarlet worsted as the real Indian wears his hair, then wrap around your red man a soft, dull-colored cloth extending from the waist to the knees. Pin the drapery in place and the chief will be ready to take charge of his bronco pony, which may be any toy horse you happen to possess. The horse in the illustration is an ordinary cloth toy. ”

“ The stick enters the head near the centre of one side, so do not push the clay egg on through one end. Continue to push the head down until it meets the neck. The stick is necessary to give firmness and support to the work. Model the head, neck, and bust until it looks like Fig. 356. While modelling you must not neglect any part of the head; the work should go on at the sides and back as well as the front; every now and then turn the stand on which your work is placed that you may model other portions of the head. In sculpture it is essential that objects be made as they are ”

“ Curb your impatience a little while therefore, and resolutely turn the distaff, with its pretty load, away from you. Place one foot on the treadle, give the large wheel a turn to the right, or away from the spindle, and try to keep a steady, even motion with your foot. The jerks caused by uneven pedalling will always break the thread, so you must learn to make the wheel turn smoothly and easily, without hurry and without stopping. Some spinners place only the toe of the foot on the treadle, others rest on it the heel also ”

“ From your pale-pink paper you can make the delicately beautiful morning-glory. Have the natural flower with its stem and leaves to copy from, even if the blossom is not the color you want. As with the pink, it is the general form and appearance we strive for in the morning-glory, not the detail.
Fig. 132.—Slip the bag over the head of a lighter.
Make your pink circles with a diameter of about seven inches. It is always better to have your flowers a trifle larger than the natural ones, rather than smaller. ”

“ The leader may command a change in the position and movement of the hand and thumb according to his fancy, but the hand cannot be unclasped nor the thumb folded down during the game. Three failures count the player out, and he must then content himself with watching the others until the play ends. The leader, being privileged, follows all directions in order to confuse the others. ”

“ Asparagus fern is an airy and feathery green, but you must use it with discretion, as it is suitable only for fragile, delicate flowers in very loose arrangements. Other ferns, though often used, do not really combine well with any flowers, they are too distinctly another species of plant and hold themselves aloof in their separateness. The wild oxalis, wood-sorrel, or, as the children call it, sour grass, has pretty delicate leaves that look well with sweet-peas and other small flowers. ”

“ The color of clay changes in firing, and your little piece of pottery will probably come back to you almost the color of old ivory. One cannot be very positive about the color, however, for clays vary, and perhaps yours may be of a kind that will fire another color. The potter will glaze your work for you if you wish, or leave it in the bisque. ”

“ The blouse should be loose and belted in at the waist, hanging straight and square around the bottom. In case your doll has real hair, omit the wig and cut the real hair in Russian style.
These people never use their immense stove for heating a teakettle, though they drink tea upon all occasions. To make tea they resort to a samovar, which is a curious brass or copper vessel, shaped something like an urn. When the tea is ready, it is poured into tall glasses, a slice of lemon is put in each glass, and the tea drunk scalding hot. ”