players decide among themselves which one of their number shall
act the part of the Jolly Miller. This being done, each little boy
chooses a little girl as partner; the Jolly Miller having taken his
stand in the middle of the room, they all commence to walk arm-in-arm
round him, singing the following lines:

There was a jolly miller who lived by himself;
As the wheel went round he made his wealth;
One hand in the hopper, and the other on the bag;
As the wheel went round he made his grab.

At the word "Grab" all must change partners, and while the change
is going on the miller has the opportunity given him of securing
a partner for himself. Should he succeed in doing so, the one left
without a partner must take the place of the Jolly Miller, and must
occupy the center of the room until fortunate enough to get another
partner.

* * * * *

RUTH AND JACOB

[Illustration]

One player is blindfolded, the rest dance in a circle round him till
he points at one of them. This person then enters the ring, and when
the blindman calls out "Ruth," answers "Jacob," and moves about within
the circle so as to avoid being caught by the blindman, and continues
to answer "Jacob," as often as the blindman calls out "Ruth." This
continues until "Ruth" is caught. "Jacob" must then guess who it is he
has caught; if he guesses correctly, "Ruth" takes his place, and the
game goes on; if he guesses wrongly, he continues to be "Jacob."

* * * * *

CHECKERS

This is a splendid game and one very easily learned. It is played upon
a special board with thirty-two white and thirty-two black squares.

Two persons play at the game, who sit opposite to each other. The
players have each a set of twelve pieces, or "men," the color of the
sets being different, so that the players can distinguish their
own men easily. The men are round and flat, and are usually made of
boxwood or ebony and ivory, one set being white and the other black.

Before placing the men upon the board, it must be decided whether the
white or the black squares are to be played on, as the whole must be
put on one color only. If the white squares are selected, there must
be a black square in the right-hand corner; if the black squares are
to be played upon, then the right-hand corner square must be a white
one.

The movements in checkers are very simple; a man can be moved only one
square at a time, exc