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500 The Book of Indoor and Outdoor Games |
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practicable, was charming with bowls and vases of roses wherever they could be accommodated, while daisy-chains were hung from post to post. Here the guests were received.
Hammocks were swung under the trees, rugs stretched upon the grass, with cushions and hassocks in plenty. There were swings, a tennis-court, croquet ground, a putting-clock, and a "gaily caparisoned" donkey— with red-worsted tassels galore—to fall back upon for amusement, should the games begin to pall. A large Japanese umbrella sheltered a table in one corner of the grounds, where a discreet person presided over a bowl of lemonade to which a few cupfuls of fresh strawberry juice were added, while slices of lemon and large, ripe berries floated upon the surface.
Under the trees in a remote part of the grounds little tables were spread, each with its centrepiece of roses and daisies—where the simple little feast was to be spread.
A soap-bubble contest in the tennis-court opened the "ball"—using the net as a barrier between opposing sides. The girls made the bubbles and the boys tried to blow them over the net, which was resisted by the opposing side. The side which could count more bubbles over the barrier won the game, and the prizes— tiny bonbonnieres covered with paper rose-petals and furnished with stem and leaves (for the girls), and boxes of the chocolates "Marguerites" (for the boys). Of course, the winning side offered "consolation" bonbons to their late enemies. The contest then took another form, and the one who blew the largest bubble received a little globe of gold-fish—which looked like a bubble.
A flower-hunt was then proposed, and the children |
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