CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



recently come into vogue. Its chief recommenda- 

 tion is that it can be played by two persons 

 The rules of the game, which are rather intricate 

 are sold along with the appropriate cards and 

 apparatus for counting the scores. 



DANCING. 



Dancing, as one of the most healthful and elegant 

 indoor amusements, cannot be too highly recom- 

 mended. Among a rude or dissolute people, it 

 may degenerate into something worthy of con- 

 demnation ; but all the blessings of Providence 

 are similarly liable to abuse, and it would be most 

 unjust to condemn a cheerful domestic amusement, 

 merely because it has at times been degraded to 

 immoral purposes. By all physicians, dancing, 

 when pursued in moderation, is recommended as 

 highly conducive to health ; and no exercise is 

 more calculated to purge the mind of melancholy, 

 and put the whole temper into good-humour. 



The art of dancing is only to be learned from 

 an instructor, and little profit can be derived from 

 written directions. We shall therefore not attempt 

 any description of the many and ever-changing 

 forms that the art assumes. 



CHARADES. 



A charade is a sort of word-puzzle : an audience 

 being required to guess a word from enigmatical 

 descriptions of the word itself, and of the syllables 

 of which it consists. Only words, the component 

 syllables of which are themselves words, are suit- 

 able for this amusement (for example, herring, 

 season). In addition to there being usually no 

 connection in meaning between the word given 

 to be guessed, and the words which form its 

 syllables, the description both of the parts and of 

 the whole takes more or less of the character of 

 a riddle ; and thus there is much room for 

 irigenuity, both in the construction of charades, 

 and in the solution of them. The words which 

 are the subjects of charades do not often consist 

 of more than two syllables ; and it is usual, though 

 not imperative, to give first the descriptions of 

 the syllables in their order, and then the descrip- 

 tion of the whole (thus, my first, my second, my 

 whole). As might be expected of a pastime which 

 occupies a great variety of minds, the bad charades 

 in circulation are out of all proportion in number 

 to the good ones ; the majority are too far-fetched 

 to be tolerable, and are altogether wanting in 

 pleasantry. 



As a fair example of the charade, take the follow- 

 ing : ' My first is ploughed for various reasons, 

 and grain is frequently buried in it to little pur- 

 pose. My second is neither riches nor honour, 

 yet the former would generally be given for it, 

 and the latter is often tasteless without it My 

 whole applies equally to spring, summer, autumn, 

 and winter ; and both fish and flesh, praise and 

 censure, mirth and melancholy, are the better for 

 being in it' Ans. Sea-son. 



And here is a French example, somewhat differ- 

 ent in structure : ' Pour aller me trouver il faut 

 plus que les pieds, et souvent en chemin on dit 

 sa patenotre ; mon tout est separe* d'une de ses 

 moitie's ; la moitie" de mon tout sert a mesurer 

 1'autre.' Ans. Angle-terre. 



The word charade came into use in France 

 during the i8th century, and is commonly said to 

 be derived from the name of the person who first 



688 



hit upon this species of amusement ; but, accord- 

 ing to M. Littr^, it is derived from a Provencal 

 word, charrada (equal to charrette, a cart-load), 

 which was applied first to any species of talking 

 resorted tp for passing the time (so that it meant 

 a cart-load or heap of babblement), and afterwards 

 was appropriated to the word-puzzles we have 

 been describing, when they came to be popular. 



A similar play upon the letters composing a 

 word is to some extent practised. But there is 

 much less scope for this than for the charade 

 proper, and it requires greater ingenuity both in 

 the making and in the solving. Here is a very 

 happy French example : 



Quatre membres font tout mon bien, 



Mon dernier vaut mon tout, et mon tout ne vaut rien. 



Ans. Zero. 



The charade, in its original form above described, 

 though harmless and amusing, is a somewhat 

 frivolous pastime. But upon it has been founded 

 an admirable evening amusement, which of late 

 years has been rising in p'opularity, and which 

 deserves encouragement both on account of the 

 talents which it calls into action, and the enter- 

 tainment which it may be made to afford. This is 

 the Acted Charade, which is in principle precisely 

 the same as the charade proper. A word is chosen, 

 made up of syllables which are themselves words ; 

 and the syllables in their order, and then the word 

 itself, are each shadowed forth by means of a 

 short play in which a number of performers appear, 

 and act, and speak in character. At the end, the 

 spectators are called upon for the word which has 

 been the subject of the acting. The highest form 

 of the acted charade is that in which all the acts 

 are woven into one drama ; but a connection 

 between the acts is not necessary nor usual, and 

 requires more skill and premeditation than can 

 usually be devoted to a drawing-room amusement 

 The main thing is that each act should be so con- 

 ceived and carried on, as to afford a real clue to 

 :he discovery of the word which is to be guessed 

 rom it, while not making such a disclosure as to 

 deprive the spectators of the pleasure of guessing. 

 The word to be guessed from an act should be 

 conspicuously, and yet not obtrusively mentioned 

 n the course of the dialogue. It is plain that the 

 acted charade gives to young people of lively 

 talents a fine opportunity of distinguishing them- 

 selves and amusing their neighbours. While 

 t may be possible to get up a charade on the spur 

 of the moment, and much must always be trusted 

 to the readiness of the actors, this amusement 

 cannot be made really successful without precon- 

 cert ; and, at any rate, the plan of the charade 

 should be carefully prepared. When this is done, 

 the subject of the acting is, of course, a secret 

 which should be strictly kept As a word of two 

 syllables involves three acts, as a rule, only dis- 

 syllabic words are suitable for the acted charade. 



The Proverbe, a little comedy, usually in one 

 act, the story of which illustrates some proverb, is 

 a development of the acted charade, or rather has 

 sprung out of it, and is much in vogue with our 

 French neighbours. The Proverbe requires more 

 careful construction than is necessary for the 

 charade, and perhaps also more careful study of 

 their parts by the actors. Eminent French drama- 

 tists have not disdained to apply themselves to 

 the production of Proverbes. 



