N OWL TABLE.

HALLOWE'EN TABLES, I.]

The kitchen is the best place for the rough games and after-supper
charms.

On the stems of the apples which are to be dipped for may be tied
names; for the boys in one tub, for the girls in another. Each
searcher of the future must draw out with his teeth an apple with a
name which will be like that of his future mate.

A variation of the Irish snap-apple is a hoop hung by strings from
the ceiling, round which at intervals are placed bread, apples,
cakes, peppers, candies, and candles. The strings are twisted, then
let go, and as the hoop revolves, each may step up and get a bite
from whatever comes to him. By the taste he determines what the
character of his married life will be,--whether wholesome, acid,
soft, fiery, or sweet. Whoever bites the candle is twice
unfortunate, for he must pay a forfeit too. An apple and a bag of
flour are placed on the ends of a stick, and whoever dares to seize
a mouthful of apple must risk being blinded by flour. Apples are
suspended one to a string in a doorway. As they swing, each guest
tries to secure his apple. To blow out a candle as it revolves on a
stick requires attention and accuracy of aim.

[Illustration: A WITCHES'-CALDRON TABLE.

A BLACK-CAT TABLE.

HALLOWE'EN TABLES, II.]

The one who first succeeds in threading a needle as he sits on a
round bottle on the floor, will be first married. Twelve candles
are lighted, and placed at convenient distances on the floor in a
row. As the guest leaps over them, the first he blows out will
indicate his wedding-month. One candle only placed on the floor and
blown out in the same way means a year of wretchedness ahead. If it
still burns, it presages a year of joy.

Among the quieter tests some of the most common are tried with
apple-seeds. As in England a pair of seeds named for two lovers are
stuck on brow or eyelids. The one who sticks longer is the true,
the one who soon falls, the disloyal sweetheart. Seeds are used in
this way to tell also whether one is to be a traveler or a
stay-at-home. Apple-seeds are twice ominous, partaking of both
apple and nut nature. Even the number of seeds found in a core has
meaning. If you put them upon the palm of your hand, and strike it
with the other, the number remaining will tell you how many letters
you will receive in a fortnight. With twelve seeds and the names of
twelve friends, the old rhyme may be repeated:

"One I love,
Two I l