This game is now a mere jest. A row of chairs is so arranged as to leave a vacant space, which is concealed by shawls or other coverings, and represents a throne. The courtiers having taken their places, the newly elected monarch is ceremoniously seated by the side of his consort, and the fun consists in witnessing his downfall. By Strutt's description, it appears that in the beginning of the century this was in use as a species of "hazing" in English girls' schools: "In some great boarding-schools for the fair sex it is customary, upon the introduction of a novice, for the scholars to receive her with much pretended solemnity, and decorate a throne in which she is to be installed, in order to hear a set speech, addressed to her by one of the young ladies in the name of the rest. The throne is wide enough for three persons to sit conveniently, and is made with two stools, having a tub nearly filled with water between them, and the whole is covered with a counterpane or blanket, ornamented with ribands and other trifling fineries, and drawn very tightly over the two stools, upon each of which a lady is seated to keep the blanket from giving way when the new scholar takes her place; and these are called her maids of honor. The speech consists of high-flown compliments calculated to flatter the vanity of the stranger; and as soon as it is concluded, the maids of honor rising suddenly together, the counterpane of course gives way, and poor miss is unexpectedly immerged in the water." In Austria the same game is called "conferring knighthood." All present are dressed as knights, in paper helmets, great mustachios, sticks for lances, wooden swords, etc. Two, who represent the oldest knights, are seated on the two stools, between which is a vacant space, while the rest form a half-circle about the _Grand Master_, who wears a mask and wig, and holds a great roll of paper. Meanwhile the candidate, in a separate room, is prepared by two knights for the ceremony; these instruct him in his behavior, until the embassy arrives to lead him before the Grand Master. The latter delivers a solemn address, and from the document in his hands reads the rule of the order--silence, courage, truth, etc. Then follows the vow, the delivery of the knightly costume, and the solemn bestowal of the stroke which dubs the victim a knight. He is finally invited to take his seat in the circle, with the result described in our own jest.