How to amuse yourself and others : $b the American girl's handy bookBeard, Lina
General
How to amuse yourself and others : $b the American girl's handy book
Beard, Lina
Amusements -- Juvenile literature; Handicraft -- Juvenile literature
The bright-colored Chinese lanterns are very decorative. Suppose we
begin with these. Fasten securely here and there, on the lawn, large
paper Japanese umbrellas in upright positions. This is accomplished by
binding the handles of the umbrellas securely to poles which have been
sharpened at one end, and planting the pointed end of the poles firmly
in the ground.
[Illustration: Fig. 51]
[Illustration: Fig. 52]
From every other rib of the umbrella suspend a lighted Chinese lantern
by a wire long enough to prevent any danger of setting the little
canopy on fire. The effect produced is both novel and pretty.
A popular method of arranging the lanterns is stringing them on wires,
stretched from house to house, or from tree to tree, so forming, as it
were, a fringe of lights.
Again, they may be placed at intervals on the ground, fastened to trees
or hung on the piazza, some in groups of twos or threes, others singly,
these being of many odd shapes and sizes. Piazzas are very good sites
for the display of colored umbrellas, which may hang, inverted, from
the ceiling, with a tiny lighted Chinese lantern suspended from each
rib. Let me repeat, be careful not to have the wires so short that the
light is in dangerous proximity to the umbrella.
Another pleasing illumination is to make a large flag of colored-paper
with strong pieces of tape pasted along both top and bottom, the ends
of the tape extending beyond the flag. Tie the tape to two trees,
poles, or pillars of the porch, and place a light back of the flag, to
bring out the colors clearly and distinctly.
Illuminated tents are made by placing poles in the fashion of Fig. 51,
and using large flags, low-priced colored cloth or strong paper as a
covering, Fig. 52. The corners are tied down to pegs in the ground,
and, when two or three candles are set in the tent, the effect is very
pleasing.
All young people delight in the noise and excitement of
=Fireworks,=
and here are some pyrotechnics which any girl can easily make. They are
daylight fireworks, and most of them may be sent off from a balcony or
window, and all with no danger of fire or burns.
One of the simplest to try is the
=Parachute.=
[Illustration: Parachutes.]
Cut a piece of tissue-paper five inches square, twist each corner and
tie with a piece of thread eight inches long, Fig. 53; wrap a small
pebble in a piece of paper and tie the four pieces of thread securely
to the pebble, Fig. 54. This makes a light airy little parachute,
which, when sent out from the window, will, with a favorable wind,
sail up and off over the house-tops. Make a number of parachutes in
different colors and send them off one after another in succession.
Next we will have what we call
Thunderbolts
[Illustration: Thunderbolts]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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