back to the year 1512. On a board of 9 squares two white Knights are
placed in the top corners, and two black Knights in the bottom corners,
thus:--
+---+---+---+
| N |...| N |
+---+---+---+
|...| |...|
+---+---+---+
| n |...| n |
+---+---+---+
The problem is to interchange, in as few moves as possible, the
positions of the white and black knights.
56
We call particular attention to the construction of this very curious
couplet, in which the spaces are filled by the same seven letters. In
every case four of the letters of the missing words or phrases are the
same, and keep the same order, and in all but the first the order of the
letters is unchanged throughout, though the meaning always alters, as it
does in that most perfect old Latin motto, “Persevera, per severa, per
se vera,” “persevere through trials, true to thyself.”
Soup is --- ------- for a ------- divine,
Who with --- -------- is ----- -------- to sit down and dine.
No. XXXV.--AN ANAGRAM SQUARE
Can you break up and recast the five words in this square, so that the
fresh words form a perfect Word Square? The initials are A, M, E, N, D,
S.
+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|S|E|N|D|E|R|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|O|N|I|O|N|S|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|B|A|B|B|L|E|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|M|A|N|N|E|R|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|S|M|I|L|E|D|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|L|I|N|E|A|L|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+
57. MISSING WORDS
Sweet as the ------ and cruel as its thorn,
------ thy power is great, thy pity scorn.
Swift as the ------ that through the forest fly,
Deep as the ------ that deepest hidden lie,
Is thine own ------ to hapless mortals given,
Semblance of darkest hell or brightest heaven.
These missing words are spelt with the same four letters.
58. MISSING WORDS
(_Dedicated to the Fresh Air Fund_)
Good ----- for City -----
My pipe ----- for -- ---- charms, that yield
Pictures and ----- of a children’s day.
Lest conscience ----- I ----- -- down to say
My ----- shall send some city ----- afield.
Each word or group is spelt with the same five letters.
No. XXXVI.--SHAKESPEARE’S PSALM
Quite as cryptic and convincing as any of the curious Shakespeare-Bacon
cyphers is the evidence which connects our great English poet with the
forty-sixth Psalm of the authorised Bible version.
Shakespear, spelt thus, as it often was, contains four vowels and six
consonants. This is the key to the position. If, guided by these
figures, we turn to the _forty-sixth_ Psalm and count from the
beginning, we find the _forty-sixth_ word is “Shake.”
Then, counting from the end, disregarding the “Selah,” which is no part
of the text, we find that the _forty-sixth_ word is “spear.”
Thus, by a startling and perfect succession of affinities, the poet’s
name-number is linked again and again with this Psalm, until it reveals
his name.
If any sceptic asks why the Book of Psalms should thus be turned to, the
answer comes in the curious fact that the actual letters of the name
William Shakespere, another of its different spellings, form this
sentence as their anagram, and thus afford the necessary clue:--
“We are like his Psalm.”
A final point of interest is made when we notice that Shakespeare
himself must have been just _forty-six_ years old when the Psalms were
re-translated.
59. MISSING WORDS
He said “You ------” when one lied,
He said “Don’t ------” when one hied,
His glass held ------ at his side,
He can ------ what he denied.
Each missing word is spelt with the same six letters.
No. XXXVII.--A KNIGHT’S TOUR
The letters on this board, if read aright in the order of a Knight’s
moves at chess, will give a popular proverb.
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|R|L|T|E|Y|L|R|O|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|Y|H|L|T|O|B|T|A|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|T|A|A|A| |H|T|I|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|E|L| |E|I|N|E|O|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|D|H|W| |Y|E|S|Y|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|R|T|E|S|D| |B|W|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|Y|N|E|S|N|D|A|E|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|H|A|A|A|W|I|D|E|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Start from the most central E, and you will be able to trace the
proverb.
60. MISSING WORDS
Mr Snip, the --------, was -------- a hill,
With a bag of new -------- for stock;
When a runaway motor-car gave him a spill
Which scattered his doubts with the shock.
Each missing word is spelt with the same eight letters.
No. XXXVIII.--A WORD SQUARE
The pupils of Dr Puzzlewitz found one morning these vowels printed
boldly on the blackboard:--
E * A * E
* A * E *
A * E * *
* E * * E
E * * E *
Under it the doctor had written “Fill in the consonants, so that the
words read alike from top to bottom, and from side to side.” How is this
to be done?
61. MISSING WORDS
----- her fair cheek, and back o’er all
The ----- of years ----- memory.
Those wedding ----- to her recall
The ----- he urged so tenderly.
Each of these missing words has five letters.
62. MISSING WORDS
Two burglars attempted to ----- a house,
The ----- was heard, though as still as a mouse.
When challenged at once he a ----- became,
But caught as a ----- he finished his game.
Each word has the same five letters.
No. XXXIX.--THE SQUAREST WORD
The squarest word in any language is the Latin _time_, which, in
connection with the three other Latin words, _item_, _meti_, _emit_, can
be read, when written as a square, in every possible direction. Thus:--
T I M E
I T E M
M E T I
E M I T
As it seems impossible to go one better, we have been seeking, as a new
nut for our store, some English word which may be a good second. Can you
complete the square which is built up on these lines?
D E L F
* * * *
* * * *
* * * *
Delf is the key word, but it so far falls short of the perfection aimed
at, that other letters are used in four of the vacant places. Still, it
is so constructed that words which begin with D, E, L, or F appear each
of them in four different directions, and is thus quite a notable
example.
No. XL.--A PUZZLE DIAMOND
Can you fill in this diamond with four words that read alike from left
to right, and from top to bottom?
D
. I .
. . A . .
D I A M O N D
. . O . .
. N .
D
63. MISSING WORDS
The -------- fool in olden days
Gave kings advice in jesting phrase;
He’s -------- now; the modern throne
-------- all follies but its own.
Each missing word is spelt with the same eight letters.
64. MISSING WORDS
Days of ------ and times of evil,
Starving girls with ------ do toil,
No man ------ feast or revel,
Hushed is ------ and turmoil.
Each missing word contains the same six letters.
65. MISSING WORDS
Who ------- in his pride and rage,
To ------- vice a prey,
May hope to reach a green old age,
And find ------- his stay.
Each word has the same seven letters.
No. XLI.--A DEFECTIVE DIAMOND
S
. . M
P . . . L
. . N . . A L
S . . . N . . . R
M . . . C . E
L A . . E
L . E
R
The places now occupied by dots are to be filled in with letters so that
a complete diamond is formed, of words that read alike from left to
right, and from top to bottom.
66. A POET’S POLITICS
When Limerick once, in idle whim,
Moore as her member gaily courted,
The boys, for fun’s sake, asked of him
To state what party he supported.
When thus to them the answer ran,
“I’m of no party as a man,
But as a poet ------”
What is the missing word?
67. MISSING WORDS
Is England ------? That this is so
A solemn ------ aspires to show.
By most ignored, the theme -- ---- to some
Who gravely to the same conclusion come.
Like ------ o’er obstacles they soar,
And if an ---- -- ’vert they rave the more.
There are six letters in the missing words and phrases.
No. XLII.--A SPECIMEN MAGIC SQUARE
The following clever word square of the unusual number of seven letters,
in which there is no undue straining of words or inflexions, is by a
master hand, and would be difficult to match:--
P A L A T E D
A N E M O N E
L E V A N T S
A M A S S E S
T O N S U R E
E N T E R E R
D E S S E R T
68. MISSING WORDS
Off to the links is now their cry,
For golf is man’s --------:
Be not -------- or slow,
-------- hit the ball will go.
Each missing word is spelt with the same eight letters.
69. MISSING WORDS
No maid e’er ------- North, South, East, or West,
More ------- than she who ------- Love’s request.
Each missing word is spelt with the same seven letters.
70. OUT IN THE COLD
Though in ......... I be,
It is, alas! ... ......
No ...... ... comes nigh to me.
Each word or phrase has the same nine letters.
No. XLIII.--A LETTER PUZZLE
Can you fill in the places of these 21 asterisks with only 3 different
letters, so arranged that they spell a common English word of 5 letters
in 12 different directions?
* * * * *
* * * *
* * *
* * * *
* * * * *
Two of the five letters are vowels.
71
--------- his pride the Royal James
Came down upon the --------- Thames;
Like --------- his court repair
To breathe -- -------’s freer air.
Each space has the same nine letters.
72. DROP LETTER LINES
With lily leaves his oars are ........,
Her eager hands their treasures .......,
To the fair winds all cares . .....,
And echo faintly answers .....!
The first letter is dropped in each case, so that while the word which
ends line 1 has eight letters, the last word of line 4 has but five.
73. ENIGMA WITH MISSING LETTERS
There was no good ... in the d...y, so the klim.
No. XLIV.--A CANINE CHRONOGRAPH
Some years ago a country parson had the following inscription engraved
upon the tombstone of a favourite dog that died in 1885:--
CarLo
Dear DoggIe
LoVIng faIthfVL anD trVe
she Lost her sIght
bVt not her LoVe
for
I. e. V.
If the large capital letters are treated as Roman numerals, they add up
to the year of the dog’s death, 1885.
74
If the missing letters, indicated by dots, are supplied, and the words
are separated, this will be found to form a line in a well-known poem:--
.u.u.m.r.i.u.d.s.s.e..o.l.w.d.a.t.n.f.l.o.e.f.s.e.
75
Complete this sentence by filling in five words in the gaps, each spelt
with the same five letters:
If you write ----- ----- at ----- do not ----- the -----.
76. SIX MISSING WORDS
A ..... ..... on ....’. strands
Caught Pat’s heart in her meshes;
He left the ..... in Cupid’s hands,
And watched her ..... her tresses;
Tresses of ..... coloured gold,
That did her fairy form enfold.
Each missing word has the same five letters.
No. XLV.--A HIDDEN NAME
“Yes,” said the village wit, as a merry party sat round the tap-room
fire at Stratford-on-Avon, “some wiseacres have tried to prove that
Bacon wrote Shakespeare’s plays, because his name can be found hidden in
some of the lines. Let me show you how easily this sort of thing can be
arranged to suit our fancy.”
Taking a piece of chalk he wrote upon the door--
“Titus Andronicus”
“All’s Well that Ends Well”
“The Merchant of Venice”
“Coriolanus”
“Cymbeline”
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
“Much Ado about Nothing”
“Look down the letters under _d_ of these titles of some of
Shakespeare’s plays,” he said, “and you will find the well-known name of
one who certainly did not write them.” What name did he mean? What but
that of the prince of jokers, Dan Leno!
77. MISSING WORDS
Can you supply the missing words in these lines? Each is spelt with the
same five letters:--
A man of ----- had caught a -----,
And it was windy weather;
“Give me my -----,” he cried, “to fix
My fish and ----- together.”
No. XLVI.--A CRYPTIC INSCRIPTION
The following cryptic inscription was engraved, in his own language,
upon a tablet in honour of the great French astronomer and scientist,
Arago:--
+-------------+
| URE |
|AR ERIL|
+-------------+
It has this interpretation:--
AR à gauche,
ERIL à droit,
URE sur tout.
Arago chérit la droiture sur tout.
Arago cherished integrity above all.
78. ON THE LOOSE
When ....., our puppy, sets out for a run,
Over ..... he ....., all frolic and fun.
For no whistle he ..... in his desperate hurry
The cattle to ....., and the slow sheep to worry.
Each word has the same five letters.
79. MISSING WORDS
Buy my ripe ------, my ------ who’ll buy?
Don’t look so ------, but take some and try!
The missing words are spelt with the same six letters. What are they?
No. XLVII.--SQUARE THE CIRCLE
Here is a circle which it is quite possible to square:--
C I R C L E
I . . . E .
R . . E . .
C . E . . E
L E . . E .
E . . E . .
Can you fill it in with English words, that read alike from top to
bottom, and from left to right? Try it before you turn to the solution.
Every E must be worked in as it stands.
80. MISSING WORDS ILLUSTRATED
He who .... may .... at last,
How to .... we show;
Take a sixpence, hold it fast,
Press the .... and blow!
Each missing word has the same four letters.
[Illustration]
No. XLVIII.--A BROKEN SQUARE
We give as clues the complete border, and a diagonal in which the same
letter persists. Can you construct the whole square?
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
|_B_|_O_|_A_|_S_|_T_|_E_|_R_|
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
|_O_| | | |_E_| |_E_|
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
|_A_| | |_E_| | |_S_|
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
|_S_| |_E_| | | |_E_|
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
|_T_|_E_| | | | |_N_|
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
|_E_| | | | | |_T_|
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
|_R_|_E_|_S_|_E_|_N_|_T_|_S_|
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
ANAGRAMS
Anagrams, as a method of divining and illustrating personal destiny and
character, were quite a craze in the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries. No specimens of this word juggling have ever been more apt
than the perfect pair of political anagrams evolved from the names of
two of our greatest statesmen.
When the reins of power changed hands, it was found that the letters
which form Gladstone also spell out exactly, “G. leads not,” while the
name of his great rival and successor Disraeli itself announces, when
recast, “I lead, sir!”
No. XLIX.--A CARD PROBLEM
Here is a pretty card problem, akin in its character and arrangement to
a Magic Square.
Take from a pack of cards the four aces, kings, queens, and knaves, and
arrange them so that in each horizontal, vertical, and diagonal row,
each of the four suits and each of the four denominations shall be
represented once, and only once.
IDEAL ANAGRAMS
| |
-+--------------------------------------------------------+-
|Ave Maria, gratiâ plena, Dominus tecum! |
|Virgo serena, pia, munda et immaculata. |
|Regia nata, evadens luctum amari pomi. |
|Eva secunda, Agni immolati pura mater. |
| |
|Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee! |
|A virgin calm, holy, pure and spotless. |
|Of royal kin, free from the penalty of the bitter apple.|
|A second Eve, pure mother of the slain Lamb. |
-+--------------------------------------------------------+-
| |
These wonderful anagrams need no word of praise. Constructed each of
them with the same letters, the lines express with startling emphasis
the character and special attributes of her whom they describe.
No. L.--TURF-CUTTING
I cut eight narrow strips of turf from my lawn, to form a double
rose-border, with sides of the relative lengths shown in the diagram:--
[Illustration]
How can I relay these eight pieces, without turning or breaking them, on
a piece of level soil, so that they enclose three flower-beds of similar
size?
AN ANAGRAM EPITAPH
This was engraved on a slate monument in memory of Marya Arundell, in
Duloe, Cornwall, June 8, 1629:--
| |
-+------------------------------------------------+
| MARYA ARUNDELL--MAN A DRY LAUREL |
| |
|Man to the marigold compared may be, |
|Man may be likened to the laurel tree. |
|Both feede the eye, both please the optic sense,|
|Both soon decay, both suddenly fleete hence. |
|What then infer you from her name but this, |
|Man fades away, _man a dry laurel_ is! |
-+------------------------------------------------+-
| |
No. LI.--A READY RECKONER
Two schoolboys, looking into a small water-butt after a heavy rain,
could not agree as to whether it was quite half full.
[Illustration]
They appealed to the gardener, as there were no means of measurement at
hand, and he, being a shrewd, practical man, was able to decide the
point. How did he do this?
TWIN ANAGRAMS
Paradise lost.
_Reap sad toils._
Paradise regained.
_Dead respire again!_
No. LII.--A TRANSFORMATION
Can you turn this flat-headed 3 into a 5 by one continuous line, without
scratching out any portion of the 3?
[Illustration]
ADVANCE AUSTRALIA
What were “The Australian Cricketers?”
ANSWERED BY ANAGRAM
_Clinkers! Each a true artist._
BUNYAN’S ANAGRAM
John Bunyan, in the conclusion of the advertisement of his “Holy War,”
has these quaint lines (using i for j):--
“Witness my hand, if Anagrammed to thee
The letters make ‘Nu hony in a B.’”
OLD POLITICAL ANAGRAMS
“The Earl of Beaconsfield.”
_Chief one of all debaters._
“William Ewart Gladstone.”
_Wit so great will lead man._
No. LIII.--A CLEAR COURSE
These diagrams show two of the many ways in which eight pieces of
chessmen or draughtsmen can be so placed upon the board that each of
them has a clear course in every direction, along straight or diagonal
lines.
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| |.X.| |...| |...| |...| | |...| |...| |.X.| |...|
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
|...| |...| |...| X |...| | |...| |...| X |...| |...| |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| X |...| |...| |...| |...| | |.X.| |...| |...| |...|
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
|...| |...| |...| |.X.| | |...| |...| |...| |...| X |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| |...| |.X.| |...| |...| | |...| |...| X |...| |...|
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
|...| |...| |...| |...| X | |...| |...| |...| |.X.| |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| |...| X |...| |...| |...| | X |...| |...| |...| |...|
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
|...| |...| |.X.| |...| | |...| |.X.| |...| |...| |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
We will give a table in the solutions which shows a large number of
similar possible positions. Meantime our solvers may like to trace some
for themselves.
APPOSITE AND OPPOSITE
Three most excellent anagrams are formed with the letters of the great
name Thomas Carlyle. Two of them seem to point to the rugged sage of
Chelsea in life, and one to his repose in death. They are:--
Mercy! lash a lot.
Cry shame to all!
A calm holy rest.
A ROYAL ANAGRAM
(Adsit omen!)
“Albert Edward and Alexandra.”
_All dear bread and war tax end!_
No. LIV.--QUARRELSOME NEIGHBOURS
Three families, who were not on speaking terms, lived in three houses
within the same enclosing fence. Determined to avoid each other, they
built covered ways from the doors of their houses to their gates, so
that they might never cross each other’s paths. The family in A had
their gate at A, those in B at B, and those in C at C. How were these
covered ways arranged so as to secure their complete separation?
[Illustration]
HIS HOBBY
William Ewart Gladstone.
_A man will go wild at trees._
A SOLDIER’S ANAGRAM
Lord Kitchener of Khartoum.
_Oh firm rod! the knack to rule!_
No. LV.--A PRETTY TRICK
Ask some one to place five cards (not court cards) in a row, to add up
their pips, and to place two cards representing that number below, for
subtraction, as is shown in the diagram.
/-------\ /-------\ /-------\ /-------\ /-------\
| ♠ | | ♦ | | ♣ ♣ | | ♥ ♥ | | ♦ ♦ |
| | | | | | | ♥ | | ♦ ♦ |
| | | ♦ | | ♣ ♣ | | ♥ ♥ | | ♦ | = 28.
| | | | | | | ♥ | | ♦ ♦ |
| ♠ | | ♦ | | ♣ ♣ | | ♥ ♥ | | ♦ ♦ |
\-------/ \-------/ \-------/ \-------/ \-------/
/-------\ /-------\
| ♣ | | ♠ ♠ |
| | | ♠ |
| | | ♠ ♠ |
| | | ♠ |
| ♣ | | ♠ ♠ |
\-------/ \-------/
/-------\ /-------\ /-------\ /-------\ /-------\
| ♥ | | ♣ | | ♠ ♠ | | ♦ ♦ | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | ♣ | | ♠ ♠ | | ♦ ♦ | | ♥ |
| | | | | | | | | |
| ♥ | | ♣ | | ♠ ♠ | | ♦ ♦ | | |
\-------/ \-------/ \-------/ \-------/ \-------/
Let him then place cards to represent the result of subtraction, remove
which one he pleases of these, and tell you the sum of the remaining
pips.
You can at once tell him the value of the card removed by deducting the
number of pips in that remainder from the next highest multiple of 9.
Thus, in the instance shown above, if one of the sixes is removed, the
sum of the remaining pips is 12, and 18 - 12 = 6. A space must be left
for any 0.
BOAT-RACE ANAGRAMS
Here is a batch of anagrams, all letters perfect, which show how, by a
little ingenuity, words may be twisted into opposite and appropriate
meanings.
“The Oxford and Cambridge annual boat-race.”
ANAGRAMS
Hard race, but Cantab gained lead from Oxon.
Ah! bad rudder line for Cantab cox to manage.
Cantab blue had raced in an extra good form.
No. LVI.--THE CROSS-KEYS
This pretty puzzle can be made at home by anyone who is handy with a
fret-saw.
[Illustration]
Cut three pieces of hard wood according to the patterns given in this
diagram, and try to fit the three sections together so that they form a
firm symmetrical figure with six projecting ends.
ANGLO-JAPANESE ANAGRAMS
“The Anglo-Japanese treaty of Alliance.”
Yea, Fate enjoins to help a gallant race
or
Hail, gallant East! Fear not, enjoy peace
or
A peace angel, then joy to all in far East.
A WONDERFUL ANAGRAM
If the letters which spell the names of the twelve months are shaken up
and recast, these appropriate lines and their title are formed--
POEM
Just a jury by number, each a scrap of year,
A number recording every jumble, tumble, tear!
No. LVII.--THE NABOB’S DIAMONDS
An Indian Nabob left a casket of valuable diamonds to his children under
the following conditions:--The first was to take a diamond and
one-seventh of the remainder; the second was to take two and a seventh
of the then remainder; the third three and a seventh of the rest, and so
on, on similar lines, till all the diamonds were taken. Each of the
children had then exactly an equal share. How many diamonds were there,
and how many children?
A PRIZE ANAGRAM
It would be difficult to find a more ingenious and appropriate anagram
than this, which took a prize in _Truth_ in 1902, and connects the
King’s recovery with the Coronation.
The sentence was--
“God save our newly crowned King and Queen!
Long life to Edward and Alexandra!”
The letters of this were recast thus--
Can we wonder an anxious devoted England followed drear danger
quakingly?
A GOOD ANAGRAM
Sir Francis Bacon, the Lord Keeper.
_Is born and elect for rich speaker._
THE DREAMER’S ANAGRAM
“Imagination”--_I’m on it again!_
A SEASONABLE ANAGRAM
“Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter.”
_We murmur--“Time’s running past!”_
No. LVIII.--A CARD CHAIN
The cardboard chain in this diagram is formed of unbroken links cut from
one card.
[Illustration]
There are no joinings in these links, no paste or gum is used, and the
chain is fairly cut from a single card.
APPROPRIATE
Very apt indeed, in these days of books and papers without end, is the
descriptive anagram which we find involved in
“The Alphabet,” _That be a help_.
A TOUR DE FORCE
Made with the letters which form the names of the twelve months, each
being used once, and only once:--
Merry durable just grace
My every future month embrace,
No jars remain, joy bubble up apace!
No. LIX.--STRAY DOTS
These represent the four quarters of a torn design, on which large black
dots had been so drawn that no two of them stood on the same row,
column, or diagonal.
+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
|\ | / \ | / \ | / \ | /| |\ | / \ | / \ | / \ | /|
+--+-----+-----+-----+--+ +--+-----+-----+-----+--+
|/ | \ / | \ / | \ / | \| |/ | \ / | \ / | \ / | \|
|\ | / \ | / \ | / \ | /| |\ | / \ | / \ | / \ | /|
+--●-----+-----+-----+--+ +--+-----●-----+-----+--+
|/ | \ / | \ / | \ / | \| |/ | \ / | \ / | \ / | \|
|\ | / \ | / \ | / \ | /| |\ | / \ | / \ | / \ | /|
+--+-----+-----●-----+--+ +--+-----+-----+-----+--+
|/ | \ / | \ / | \ / | \| |/ | \ / | \ / | \ / | \|
|\ | / \ | / \ | / \ | /| |\ | / \ | / \ | / \ | /|
+--+-----+-----+-----+--+ +--+-----+-----●-----+--+
|/ | \ / | \ / | \ / | \| |/ | \ / | \ / | \ / | \|
+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
|\ | / \ | / \ | / \ | /| |\ | / \ | / \ | / \ | /|
+--+-----+-----+-----+--+ +--+-----+-----+-----+--+
|/ | \ / | \ / | \ / | \| |/ | \ / | \ / | \ / | \|
|\ | / \ | / \ | / \ | /| |\ | / \ | / \ | / \ | /|
+--●-----+-----+-----+--+ +--●-----+-----+-----+--+
|/ | \ / | \ / | \ / | \| |/ | \ / | \ / | \ / | \|
|\ | / \ | / \ | / \ | /| |\ | / \ | / \ | / \ | /|
+--+-----+-----+-----+--+ +--+-----+-----+-----+--+
|/ | \ / | \ / | \ / | \| |/ | \ / | \ / | \ / | \|
|\ | / \ | / \ | / \ | /| |\ | / \ | / \ | / \ | /|
+--+-----+-----+-----●--+ +--+-----+-----+-----●--+
|/ | \ / | \ / | \ / | \| |/ | \ / | \ / | \ / | \|
+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
Can you copy out these four pieces, and place them in close contact, so
that the proper edges come together to reproduce the original effect?
AN OLD POLITICAL ANAGRAM
The initials of Brougham, Russell, Allthorp, and Grey,
If rightly disposed the word “brag” will display;
Transpose them and “grab” will appear to the view,
Which hints at what many assert to be true,
That they, like some others, still follow the plan
To _brag_ what they’ll do, and then _grab_ what they can!
No. LX.--THE OPEN DOOR
A prisoner placed in the cell marked _A_ is promised his release on the
condition that he finds his way out of the door at _X_ by passing
through all the cells, entering each of them once only.
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| A |
+ + + + + + + + +
| |
+ + + + + + + + +
| |
+ + + + + + + + +
| |
+ + + + + + + + +
| |
+ + + + + + + + +
| |
+ + + + + + + + +
| |
+ + + + + + + + +
| |
+ + + + + + + + +
| _x_|
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ +
How can he do this?
A ROYAL ANAGRAM
The following remarkable anagram is recast from the name and title of
the daughter of George IV., who was direct heir to the throne:--
“Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales.”
ANAGRAM
_P. C. her august race is lost, O fatal news!_
No. LXI.--THE SHEPHERD’S PUZZLE
When a farmer told his shepherd to put 21 sheep into 4 pens at the fair,
and added, “I wish you could put an odd number into each pen, as there
is luck in odd numbers, but that is impossible,” he did not take into
account the shrewdness of the shepherd, who very cleverly folded them
thus:--
+---------------------------------+
| * * * |
| +-------------------------+ |
| | * * | |
| | +-----------------+ | |
| | | * * | | |
| | | +---------+ | | |
| | | | * * | | | |
| * | | | * | | | * |
| | | | * * | | | |
| | | +---------+ | | |
| | | * * | | |
| | +-----------------+ | |
| | * * | |
| +-------------------------+ |
| * * * |
+---------------------------------+
Each fold or pen has by this arrangement an odd number of sheep within
the hurdles that form its outer boundaries, and in this sense the
farmer’s wish was satisfied.
We are familiar, most of us, with what is called Macaronic verse or
prose, in which the letters and syllables of Latin words can be read so
as to form English sentences.
It would seem to be too much to expect that there could be any
connection in meaning between these Latin and English words, but there
is one striking exception to this general rule. “Non est” means exactly
“it is not,” and “No nest” conveys precisely the same idea, when a bird
finds that its home has been destroyed.
No. LXII.--LEAP-FROG
Here is an interesting puzzle which can be worked out with coins or
counters on a corner of a chess or a draughtboard.
[Illustration]
At starting only the central point is vacant. A piece that is moved to a
vacant spot must leap over two other pieces if it goes along the solid
black lines, and can only move over one of the dotted diagonals at a
time to an adjoining point. Try, on these lines, to enable the frog, now
in the second hole of the lowest row, to reach the centre in the fewest
possible moves, leaving its own original point vacant, and at the last
surrounded by the words “leap-frog” as they now stand.
Moves can only be made to vacant places.
LXIII.--MUSIC HATH CHARMS
[Illustration]
Transpose two letters, and the lad
Who grinds his organ in the Strand,
Can sing “my music is not bad,
I wake it with a master hand!”
How did he justify this ambitious claim?
No. LXIV.--GRIST FOR THE MILL
If the letters P E A R S O N S are printed on small wafers or buttons,
and set at hap-hazard and out of order on the points which they now
occupy, a very pretty game of patience will result from the attempt to
restore them to their places.
[Illustration]
Any letter can be pushed along one of the lines to a vacant place, and
those on the mill sails can be moved to or from the central spot. There
is no fixed limit to the number of moves, but the puzzle is to restore,
in as few moves as possible, the broken and disordered word to its
proper reading round the mill.
No. LXV.--YOUR WATCH A COMPASS
We are indebted to Sam Loyd, the famous American problem composer and
puzzle king, for the following very practical curiosity, which is so
closely akin to a puzzle that it is well worth giving for the benefit of
our readers when they are out on holiday. If you are uncertain as to
your bearings, lay your watch flat on the palm of your hand so that the
hour-hand points in the direction of the sun. The point exactly midway
between the hour-hand and the figure 12 will be due south at any time
between 6 in the morning and 6 in the afternoon. During any other hours
our rule will give the _north_ point, and in the southern hemisphere the
rules will be reversed.
[Illustration]
In the days of Pope Pio Nono someone extracted from the Papal title
“Supremus Pontifex Romanus” an anagram, which cut at the very foundation
of the faith. It ran thus: “O non sum super petram fixus”--“O I am not
founded on the rock.”
This held its place as a clever topical anagram, until in a moment of
happy inspiration a son of the Church discovered that if the first words
are recast and rearranged, a splendidly appropriate motto for the then
reigning pontiff leaps to sight, “Sum Nono, super petram fixus,” “I am
Nono, founded on the rock!”
No. LXVI.--A MYSTIC SQUARE
This is an arrangement of numbers in 9 cells, so that no cell contains
the same figure as appear in any other, and the two upper rows, the two
side columns, the two long diagonals, and the four short diagonals all
add up to 18:--
+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| | | |
| | 5 + 5| 2 |
| 1 + 1 + 1 |5 + 5 + -----| 2 + - |
| | 5 | 2 |
| | | |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| | | |
| | | 4 + 4 |
| 3 + 3 | 6 | 4 + ----- |
| | | 4 |
| | | |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| | | |
| 7 + 7 | 9 + 9 + 9| 8 |
| 7 + ----- |9 + ---------| 8 + - |
| 7 | 9 | 8 |
| | | |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+
Though not, strictly speaking, a Magic Square, this is a most ingenious
fulfilment of the conditions of the puzzle.
UP-TO-DATE ANAGRAMS
Good up-to-date anagrams are:--Chamberlain, “Rich able man,” and
Pierpont Morgan, “Man prone to grip.”
No. LXVII.--A SWARM OF WORDS
In each of the five crosses of this mystic figure the same letters are
to be inserted where there are asterisks, so that seven different
English words are formed, which can be read altogether in 64 different
ways and directions.
*
*
* * D * *
*
*
* +---/*\---+ *
* | * | *
* * D * *|* * D * *|* * D * *
* | * | *
* +---\*/---+ *
*
*
* * D * *
*
*
There will then be in all the five crosses 320 readings of these seven
words, three of them having 80 variations and four of them having 20,
and only three different letters are used.
SEASONABLE ANAGRAMS
| |
-+---------------------------------------+-
| “_A Merry Christmas and a Happy |
| New Year._” |
|My prayer and wishes reach many a part.|
| _or_ |
|Many a sad heart can whisper my prayer.|
-+---------------------------------------+-
| |
No. LXVIII.--AFTER SOME SAD REVERSE
We admit this most miserable picture of a discontented outcast into our
bright pages, to “point a moral,” if it does not “adorn a tale.”
[Illustration]
Can our readers gather from it the lesson, that when things seem to be
at the worst, a turn of fortune’s wheel may set them on their legs
again, and change the merest melancholy to the merriest mirth? A reverse
of another sort will set things right. Turn the page round!
A lady, to whom the momentous question had been put with some
diffidence, handed to her lover a slip of paper, telling him that it
embodied her reply. Nothing was written but the word “stripes,” which
seemed at first to be of sinister omen; but to his relief and joy the
fateful letters presently resolved themselves into a message of direct
encouragement, and never was an anagram more welcome than this which
bade him “persist.”
No. LXIX.--THE EXPLOSIVE RAFT
With eight large wooden matches form a miniature raft, as is shown in
the diagram:--
[Illustration]
Place the little raft on a wine-glass, and apply a lighted match to one
of its corners. The tension on its parts will cause the whole
construction to fly asunder as soon as the pressure on any point is
removed.
A NOTABLE HISTORIC ANAGRAM
It is very remarkable that the letters which form the sentence--
“The Jubilee Day of Victoria, Queen and Empress,” also exactly spell--
_Joys are never quite complete if a husband die._
No. LXX.--A PICTURE PUZZLE
Much is bad, and much is sad,
And life has many woes.
[Illustration]
May we keep clear from year to year
Of what this picture shows!
Can you interpret it?
CONTRADICTION BY ANAGRAM
Logica, Latin for logic, can be resolved into the strangely
contradictory anagram, _caligo, darkness_; and, in seeming support of
this perversion, our word logic can be turned into _I clog_!
Here are two good anagrams connected with the land of the Pharaohs:--
David Livingstone,
“Go and visit Nile, D.V.”
Cleopatra’s Needle on the Thames Embankment,
“An Eastern emblem; then take me to Cheops’ land.”
Danes should be _dark men_, according to the anagram of “Denmark.”
No. LXXI.--PATCHWORK PICTURES
This is good fun for old and young as a round game. Each player draws on
the upper part of a slip of paper some fancy head and folds it back,
leaving just enough in sight to guide his left-hand neighbour, who takes
it and adds a body. Again the slips are handed on for the final addition
of legs of any sort, some continuation being always indicated.
[Illustration]
Then these completed patchwork pictures are thrown into a central bowl,
shaken up, drawn out, and passed round for inspection and merry comment.
The folds are the dotted lines.
A HOUSEHOLD WORD
The wounded and sick soldiers whom Florence Nightingale nursed so
tenderly in the Crimea would have acclaimed her beautiful anagram--“Flit
on, cheering angel!”
No. LXXII.--A WINTER NIGHT’S DREAM
Mr Jolliboy, chubby and active, had been dancing until the small hours
at a house in the suburbs, which was the home of sweet Lucy, the lady of
his love.
The full moon shone down upon him as he walked happily to his own modest
quarters, and the “man in the moon” seemed to smile and wink at him most
knowingly.
[Illustration]
Letting himself in presently with his latch-key, Mr Jolliboy was soon in
bed and fast asleep, when in his dreams the full moon shone again,
showing at one moment a likeness of his own round face, at another two
smiling profile views of his Lucy, and at times all the three mixed.
Here, changed by a few touches, are the three moon-faces to be seen in
one moon!
When the great Tichborne trial was still dragging its slow length along,
a barrister with a turn for anagrams amused himself and his learned
friends by constructing the following really remarkable specimen:--Sir
Roger Charles Doughty Tichborne, Baronet, “Yon horrid butcher Orton,
biggest rascal here.”
No. LXXIII.--POINTS AND PICTURES
Among the many openings for pleasant fun in the home circle, there is
none which appeals more easily to young and old than the good old puzzle
of drawing off-hand some fanciful figure, based on five dots placed at
random, which must fall on the face, hands, and feet of the subject
chosen.
[Illustration]
This spirited specimen shows how well it may be done, and similar
efforts, more or less successful, will provoke much amusement. Try it
with pencil or pen and ink.
ANOTHER BOAT-RACE ANAGRAM
Among the many points which have to be taken into account by those who
in successive years are responsible for the selection of the Oxford
eight, there is one which is thus neatly expressed by an anagram:--
“The Oxford and Cambridge annual boat-race.”
_Much extra load on board can bring a defeat._
No. LXXIV.--A NERVOUS SHOCK
This is the astounding portrait of himself, which presented itself to
our scientific professor in his dreams. What very poor justice it does
to the real lines of his benevolent and shrewd old countenance will be
seen in a moment if this weird picture is reversed.
[Illustration]
HOLIDAY HAUNTS
_Divination by Name_
Whenever we are making our plans, some of us for a holiday abroad, some
for a few weeks at the seaside, there is a special interest in these
descriptive anagrams:--
Davos Platz, Engadine.
“Stop, gaze, and live!”
Weston-super-Mare, Somerset.
“A sweet open summer’s resort.”
A very appropriate anagram that exactly describes its subject is
this:--Cleopatra’s Needle, London--“An old lone stone replaced.” Very
suggestive, too, are these short ones, which assure us that skeletons
are “not sleek,” and that editors are “so tired!”
No. LXXV.--HOGARTH’S PUZZLE
A soldier, a dog, and a door can be thus drawn by only three strokes of
a pen:--
[Illustration]
It is said that this originated with Hogarth, who made a bet with his
boon companions that he would draw a soldier, a dog, and a door in three
strokes. For the bayonet he drew a pike.
No. LXXVI.--A REBUS
Why is this “Joker” like a poor joke?
[Illustration]
Because he is _in an E_ (inane).
Here are three ingenious instances of what may be called answers by
anagram:--
What is the protector of “wealth?”
_The law._
Where would a “cart-horse” be unhandy?
In an _orchestra_.
What is the “Daily Express?”
_Pressa die lux._
Concise daily light.
(u is used for y.)
It is curious that Mary, a name so sweet and simple, has as its anagram
“army.” The conflicting thoughts suggested by these two words are very
happily harmonised by George Herbert in his quaint style:--
“How well her name an army doth present,
In whom the Lord of Hosts doth pitch His tent!”
No. LXXVII.--THREE SQUARES
Here is quite a simple method of arranging nine matches so that they
represent three squares.
[Illustration]
The figure also includes at its sides two equilateral triangles.
A ROYAL ANAGRAM
Victoria the First, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, and Empress of
India. These letters also spell exactly:--
Fit for a bard I claim inspiréd strain:--
The sad and even tenor of a quiet reign.
POLITICAL ANAGRAMS
Here are two very perfect specimens:--
Earl Beaconsfield.
An able force is led_,
or,
_A free lance is bold_.
No. LXXVIII.--A TRANSPARENCY
When the plebiscite was taken in France to decide whether Napoleon III.
should be Emperor, the number of votes cast in his favour was 7,119,791.
Against him there were 1,119,000 votes.
[Illustration: 7119791/1119]
If these numbers are written down quite plainly, as is shown above, with
a dividing line, and without the three cyphers, and the paper or card on
which they are strongly marked is reversed and held up against the
light, the very word with which they were concerned, “empereur,” stands
out with startling distinctness.
It can be drawn on thin cardboard with good effect.
AN IMPERIAL ANAGRAM
A sa Majesté impériale le Tsar Nicolas, souverain et autocrat de
toutes les Russies.
The same letters exactly spell--
O, ta vanité sera ta perte. O, elle isole la Russie; tes successeurs
te maudiront à jamais!
This most remarkable anagram was published in the early days of the
Crimean war.
This curiously apposite anagram was formed letter by letter from the
surnames of the Oxford and Cambridge crews:--
April first nineteen hundred and five. How all warm, as arms, strong as
light or dark blue crew’s, all ply oars on very smooth Thames! Oh! shall
Cam’s boat lose?
No. LXXIX.--FOR THE CHILDREN
Here is an excellent and amusing pastime for the winter evenings. Cover
a square of stout cardboard with glazed black paper, and divide it as is
shown in this diagram:--
[Illustration]
With a little ingenuity and some sense of fun, any number of grotesque
figures can be constructed with the pieces, such as those which we give
here as samples. Try it.
The truth that there is often much in common between puzzles and
politics is borne out by the following up-to-date anagram:--This Eastern
question--“Is quite a hornet’s nest.”
Quite a good anagram, appropriate to the name of a great author, and one
of his works runs thus:--
Charles Dickens: Oliver Twist.
“Now C. D. strikes till vice hears.”
Confessions of an Opium-Eater
The same letters recast spell--
_If so man, refuse poison at once!_
No. LXXX.--JUDGING DISTANCE
(For the Children)
Can you, without measuring, say which two of these posts are farthest
apart?
[Illustration]
A JAPANESE ANAGRAM
“Oyama is Field-Marshal.”
_Fame aid his loyal arms!_
A TOPICAL ANAGRAM
“North Sea outrage.”
_A ghost near route!_
APPROPRIATE ANAGRAMS
Madame Rachel.
_Deal me a charm._
A. Tennyson.
_Any sonnet._
A FOURFOLD ANAGRAM
“Notes and Queries”
_A question sender._
_Enquires on dates._
_Reasoned inquest._
_I send on a request._
No. LXXXI.--HIT IT HARD
Place the two parts of a common wooden match-box, empty, and in good
condition, in the position shown below.
[Illustration]
Now challenge any one to break them with a smart downward blow of the
edge of the hand. What will happen? Try it.
It is well to take care that no people are sitting, or children
standing, near the box, as it might fly into their faces.
An amusing sequence and a note of warning run through these three
anagrams:--Sweetheart, “There we sat;” Matrimony, “Into my arm;” One
hug, “Enough.”
No. LXXXII.--A RE-“BUS”
The driver of a London ’bus the other day broke out into florid language
as he nearly collided with a brand new motor omnibus.
[Illustration]
One of the travesties of “motor-’bus” which he hurled at his rival is
depicted in this diagram. What was it?
A PRIZE ANAGRAM
This letter-perfect anagram could not be more apposite if the words had
been chosen from a dictionary:--“Abdul Hamid Khan, Sultan of the Ottoman
Empire.”--“Inhuman despot, that maketh Armenia bloodful.”
The words in italics in--
One lovely _May morn it_ chanced that I set
My all on a new speculation;
But the venturesome step I can never regret,
For my prize has surpassed expectation,
find in _Matrimony_ their anagram, which is also the solution of the
lines.
No. LXXXIII.--ROUSING DEAD DOGS
A GOOD OLD PUZZLE
These dogs are dead, we all should say;
Give them four strokes, they run away!
[Illustration]
A MEAL OF ANAGRAMS
Mute hen.
Your posset.
Try our steak.
One solid lamb.
Steamed or tossed.
Mince sole.
This is solved thus:--
The Menu.
Oyster soup.
Roast turkey.
Boiled salmon.
Dressed tomatoes.
Lemon ices.
Each corresponding sentence is a perfect anagram.
_Earl of Beaconsfield_ is spelt with the same letters as the sentence “O
able dealer in scoff!”
If a lion with an ear for music were to hear the sound of an “oratorio,”
he might say, as an answer by anagram, _I roar too_!
No. LXXXIV.--LIKE A BLACK SWAN
(_Nigroque simillima cygno._)
Here is quite a good “shadowgraph.”
[Illustration]
With a strong light and a little practice, any one may easily produce
this effect with the shadow thrown by arms and hands.
ANSWERS BY ANAGRAM
What is Russia?--Russia _is ursa_ (a bear).
What did a Prime Minister say of the _Saturday Review_?
That _it was a very rude_ periodical.
BEANS AND BACON
What appropriate advice might be given by anagram to those who support
the “Shakespeare-Bacon” controversy?
_Soak cheaper beans._
No. LXXXV.--CHEQUERS AND STRIPES
Here is a particularly charming domino puzzle:--
+---+ +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+
| 2 | | | | 3 | | | | 3 |
| | | | | | | | | |
| 2 | | | | 1 | | | | 3 |
+---+ +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+
+---+ +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+
| | | 1 | | | | 3 | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | 4 | | | | 4 | | |
+---+ +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+
+---+ +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+
| 1 | | | | 3 | | | | 5 |
| | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | | | | 5 | | | | 5 |
+---+ +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+
+---+ +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+
| | | 3 | | | | 5 | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | 6 | | | | 6 | | |
+---+ +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+
Place any twenty stones, as is shown in the diagram, so that in every
row their fronts and backs alternate. How can you change the picture by
only two movements, so that, retaining its present form, you alter its
chequers into stripes?
The answer by anagram to--What helps to make “bakers fat?” is
_Breakfast_.
No. LXXXVI.--HANG THE MATCHES!
Here is an amusing method of turning wax matches to quaint account:--
[Illustration]
If the wax is slightly melted, and perhaps shredded for some effects,
all sorts of fanciful figures can be thus contrived.
ANSWER BY ANAGRAM
What does an editor say to each “ream of paper?” _Appear for me._
LEWIS CARROLL’S WILL PUZZLE
Here is a most ingenious will puzzle, by Lewis Carroll, which will be
new to most of our readers. Each of the following five questions has to
be answered by a different sentence, nine letters long, and each
sentence is spelt with the same letters used in varied order:--
When are you going to make your will?
Shall I write it for you in pencil?
When may a man leave all his money to charities?
What did the uncle say when he heard this?
What did the nephew say when the uncle made him his heir?
The anagram answers to the five questions in Lewis Carroll’s will puzzle
are as follows:--
When are you going to make your will?
_Now I think._
Shall I write it for you in pencil?
_No, with ink._
When may a man leave all his money to charities?
_With no kin._
What did the uncle say when he heard this?
_Hint, I know._
What did the nephew say when the uncle made him his heir?
_Think I won!_
No. LXXXVII.--A PARROT CRY
The good old Rebus--
[Illustration]
may stand for the proverb--
“Honesty is the best policy.” (On ST is the best poll I see!)
No. LXXXVIII.--A PICTURE PUZZLE
Can you find eight animals that are concealed in this wood?
[Illustration]
If we may go by its anagram the _gardenia_ needs careful “drainage.”
DEFINITIONS BY ANAGRAM
What is the “soldiers’” anagram?
_Lo I dress._
What motto befits “Christianity?”
_I cry that I sin._
No. LXXXIX.--A SHADOWGRAPH
Here is a good old sample of an effect produced by supple fingers in a
strong light on the wall:--
[Illustration]
Adjust the fingers as is shown, so as to secure the bright spot for the
eye, and then life-like movements can easily be made with legs and ears.
The characteristic for the moment of the gaol-bird who began to tear his
clothing, crying out, “I mean to rend it!” was _determination_, which
contains exactly the same letters.
Those who, according to their anagram, are best equipped for a “sea
trip” are _Pirates_.
AN ANSWER BY ANAGRAM
What is most unlike a festival?--_Evil fast_.
The three words in italics in the verse below form also a long single
word, of which the lines themselves give a vivid description:--
While many greet the friends they meet,
I know no face, I press no hand.
Though busy feet may throng the street,
I _sit alone, sirs_, in the land.
“Solitariness.”
No. XC.--A REBUS
Can you interpret this word-picture?
[Illustration]
It represents the name of a famous man.
ANSWER BY ANAGRAM
Should you wish to go by rail,
Hasten to the station;
“Train on time” can never fail
To reach its destination.
If you need a further clue
Keep your journey’s end in view.
_Termination._
We may expect to find “Anarchists” involved _in rash acts_ according to
their anagram.
When his patient has recovered, a “surgeon,” can say by anagram _go
nurse_!
ANSWER BY ANAGRAM
What momentous event of the last century forms in two words an anagram
of the three words appropriate to it, “violence run forth?”
_French Revolution._
No. XCI.--ON THE WALL
Here is a picturesque head, which in a strong light can be thrown upon
the wall by anyone who is handy with his fingers.
[Illustration]
The peaked cap seems to suggest a French soldier.
ANSWERS BY ANAGRAM
What manner of men has “Eton” produced?
Men of _tone_ and _note_.
What worries the “postman?”
_No stamp._
What are to be seen at “Epsom Races?”
_Some pacers._
No. XCII.--ILLUSTRATED EGGS
As an excellent illustration of how much expression can be given by
quite a few simple lines, if the pen or pencil is in artistic hands, we
give the outlines of half a dozen eggs, on which by a few deft touches
varied emotions of the human face are cleverly depicted.
[Illustration]
Here is a hint for fun in the home circle, with a basket of eggs, a
sheaf of pencils, and a prize for the best rapid design. There is room
for two contrasting faces on each egg.
ANSWERS BY ANAGRAM
What did “Henry Wadsworth Longfellow” do for America?
He _Won half the New World’s glory_.
What was the happy result of patriotic “sentiment” in our colonies
during the Boer war?
_It sent men._
No. XCIII.--THE FIVE STRAWS
Take five straws, each about four inches long, and a shilling, and
arrange them so that by holding an end of one of the straws you can lift
them all.
[Illustration]
The diagram given above shows how, by properly interlacing the five
straws, the shilling may be so inserted as to form a wedge which locks
them all together.
ANSWERS BY ANAGRAM
What can you say when using a “fire-escape?”
_I creep safe._
What is the extreme of “slow reading?”
_A single word._
How might a “Poorhouse” in olden days have been described by its own
letters?--_O sour hope!_
What is “Old England” to her sons and daughters?--_Golden land._
The battle of “Inkermann” tells by its anagram of _men in rank_.
No. XCIV.--EQUIVALENT REDISTRIBUTION
In the problem known as “The Flighty Nuns,” the Abbess in the central
cell was satisfied so long as she could count nine of her charges in the
cells on each of the four sides. Here are diagrams which show how the
thirty-six inmates could on these terms absent themselves without
discovery, 2, 4, 8, 10, 12, 16, and even 18 at a time by re-arrangement
of their numbers in the cells.
+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+ +-+-+-+
|0|9|0| |1|8|0| |2|5|2|
+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+ +-+-+-+
|9|A|9| |8|A|8| |5|A|5|
+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+ +-+-+-+
|0|9|0| |0|8|1| |2|5|2|
+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+ +-+-+-+
+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+ +-+-+-+
|2|5|2| |2|4|3| |3|3|3|
+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+ +-+-+-+
|5|A|5| |4|A|4| |3|A|3|
+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+ +-+-+-+
|2|5|2| |3|4|2| |3|3|3|
+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+ +-+-+-+
+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+ +-+-+-+
|2|2|5| |4|1|4| |5|0|4|
+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+ +-+-+-+
|2|A|2| |1|A|1| |0|A|0|
+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+ +-+-+-+
|5|2|2| |4|1|4| |4|0|5|
+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+ +-+-+-+
The clue by anagram to those in search of “hidden treasure” who sought
to discover a dish-cover is _dish under a tree_.
No. XCV.--THE PUZZLED CARPENTER
To stop a serious leak a carpenter sought for a board a foot square. The
only piece he could find was two feet square, but it was pierced with
sixteen holes, as in the diagram below:--
[Illustration]
How did he contrive to cut a square from this of the necessary size?
The answer by anagram to “What should we all welcome, if the Chancellor
of the Exchequer could ‘introduce’ it into his Budget?” is _reduction_.
Things that we know to be “transient” must be looked at, according to
their anagram, _instanter_.
A MUSICAL ANAGRAM
Sweet Mary, the Maid of the Mill, arranged an ingenious signal by song,
by which, in olden days, she could assure her father that all was well
when mischief was abroad. If he heard her singing, “Do, re, mi, fa, sol,
la, si,” he was sure that nothing was amiss. When these syllables are
shaken up, and recast as an anagram, what reassuring sentence do they
form?
The musical syllables, sung as a reassuring signal to her father, by
Mary, the Maid of the Mill, “Do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si,” when shaken
up and recast as an anagram form the sentence “A mill door is safe.”
No. XCVI.--NOT EASY WHEN YOU KNOW
Of the many “match puzzles” the following seems to be the most confusing
to the ordinary solver, and any variation of its original position is
enough to create fresh confusion.
+-----+-----+-----+
| | | |
| | | |
+-----+-----+-----+
| | | |
| | | |
+-----+ +-----+
Re-arrange three of these matches and form four squares.
The enigma anagram--
They were orthodox as beadles,
But in business tricks and wheedles
They were “sharp I see” as needles--
is solved by _Pharisees_.
The question--Where did we buy “our fancy mat?”--is answered by anagram
at the _manufactory_.
No. XCVII.--SIMPLICITY
Construct this figure with five matches:--
/\
/ \
/ \
----
\ /
\ /
\/
Remove three of the matches, and then replace two of them so as to form
a similar figure.
A common and much-appreciated “dose at meat shop” is, according to its
anagram, _mashed potatoes_.
Tiglath-Pileser was the name of the king which can be resolved into the
anagram, “I till the grapes.”
“Art? I begin art!” is an anagram for _Great Britain_.
If heartily administered, _nine thumps_, the anagram of “punishment,”
would fall deservedly upon the shoulders of a wife-beater.
ANSWER BY ANAGRAM
Our strongest “armaments” are _men-at-arms_.
No. XCVIII.--OVER THE WINE AND WALNUTS
Can you build a bridge with three wooden matches, which shall connect
three wine-glasses, and be solid enough to support a fourth set upon it?
[Illustration]
This picture shows how it is to be done.
The _elephant_, according to its anagram, is the animal to which the
command “Leap then!” would be the least appropriate.
The answer by anagram to “Whom should we employ to make ‘alterations’ in
our overcoats?” is _Neat tailors_.
Where do we go to remedy “disease?”
To the _seaside_.
Who should make a good “manager?”
_A German._
No. XCIX.--FROM THE MATCHBOX
Here is quite a simple match problem:--
----- ----- -----
| | | |
| | | |
----- ----- -----
| | | |
| | | |
----- ----- -----
| | | |
| | | |
----- ----- -----
Can you remove eight of these matches, that now form nine squares, so as
to leave only two squares upon the table?
When Cato and Chloe, at the Popular Café, decided to order for their
afternoon tea a pot of what is formed by the mixture of the letters of
their names, they called for _Chocolate_.
The answer by anagram to “Why may the scenery round Bournemouth be said
to be ‘quite spruce’?” is--because it is _picturesque_.
Lord Roberts’ motto, “Virtute et Valore,” is by its anagram _True to
avert evil_, a happy indication of his character.
No. C.--LIFT NINE WITH ONE
To arrange ten matches on a table, so that with one hand you can lift
nine of them with the tenth, lay them, as is shown in Fig. 1, with the
heads of eight pillowed on one, and pointing in opposite directions, and
the tenth placed across the ridge at the top.
[Illustration: Fig. 1]
[Illustration: Fig. 2]
Then lift all, as shown in Fig. 2.
A MAN HIS OWN ANAGRAM
The enigma--
Behold in me a man forlorn,
Who, though with sound limbs he was born,
His anagram alas is!
For he has found out to his cost,
While all his nimbleness is lost,
How slippery wet grass is!
is solved by _Male, lame_.
The answer by anagram to the question, “Whom do ‘our big hens’
frequently annoy?” is _neighbours_.
No. CI.--FREEHAND DRAWING
This is the way to draw in three strokes an old woman looking out of a
window:--
[Illustration]
Here is a puzzle anagram:--
Tell how to spell my name,
As on the stall you spy me,
For the letters are the same
Which bid you how to buy me.
_Peach--cheap._
The eglantine is the flower which quite contradicts its anagram,
_inelegant_.
The touching epitaph in memory of little Alice formed from the letters
of her name was _à ciel_!
No. CII.--A NOTABLE ANAGRAM
sparkle
+-------+
| Cats |
we | on | on.
| Truck |
+-------+
Yes!
Treated as an anagram the words “Cats on truck” can be recast into _Nuts
to crack_, and the surrounding motto, “Yes! we sparkle on” into
_Pearsons Weekly_; so that the whole design resolves itself into--_Nuts
to crack, in Pearson’s Weekly_.
The old saying that a man who is his own doctor has a fool for his
patient, seems to be borne out by the curious fact that the words,
“Dangers of amateur physicking,” resolve themselves into the perfect
anagram--“_The sick men pay for drugs again_.”
A ’VARSITY ANAGRAM
What every “undergraduate” hates--
_A great rude dun_.
The food for a crocodile which seems to be indicated by its name is
_cool’d rice_!
No. CIII.--WITH DRAWN SWORD
Here is a very simple and ingenious method of representing roughly an
officer with drawn sword.
[Illustration]
Six wax vestas, shredded to form the hair and sword-belt, are fastened
together by the application of a little heat.
Anyone with handy fingers and an ingenious turn of mind can easily
construct other quaint figures in this style.
“Time and tide wait for no man.”
ITS ANAGRAMS
A fine mandate to mind, I trow.
_and_
A firm intent made, a “do it now.”
No. CIV.--SHADOWGRAPHS
Here are three excellent shadowgraphs, which can be produced with good
effect by flexible fingers in a strong light on the wall.
[Illustration]
“Norway’s Olaf is in old England.”
ITS ANAGRAMS
Elf-lad, so loyal and so winning.
A darling son and noisy fellow.
Of winning lads, lead, royal son!
On London’s air wing safely lad.
ANSWERS BY ANAGRAM
Why should _city life_ be happy?
Because the same letters spell _felicity_.
What is the best proof that “real stickphast paste sticks?”
The same letters spell--_Keep this, stick scraps at last_!
ANSWERS BY ANAGRAM
What place have our puzzles “in magic tale?”
They are _enigmatical_.
What great assembly would seem from its name to consist of “partial
men?”
_Parliament._
CHARACTER BY ANAGRAM
What did Douglas Jerrold, by his name anagram, declare himself to be?
_Sure, a droll dog I!_ (_i for j_)
What in the old-fashioned days caused “the wig” to be discarded?
_Weight._
The following curious peace anagrams are appropriate in these days of
disturbance. Each set of words between inverted commas contain exactly
the same letters:--
“To escape fray” I ever “stay for peace,”
In “quiet times,” too, “I’m quite set” at ease:
Let no “vile words” provoke the “evil sword,”
Lest “red war” come, and bring its own “reward.”
Why does the old proverb “Birds of a feather flock together” form a
mystic link between us and our cousins in America?
Because the same letters recast spell out the patriotic sentence, _It
rocks the broad flag of the free_!
What, by their anagram, are “platitudes?”
_Stupid tales._
Why is there a measure to “disappointment?”
Because it is _made in pint pots_.
What is the purpose of a “catalogue?”
It is _got as a clue_.
If “porcus” is Latin for pig, what is Latin for its body?
_Corpus._
What may “laudation” easily become?
_Adulation._
What is “revolution?”
_To love ruin._
Define “The Griffin” (Temple Bar).
_Fine fright._
Why is there room for variety in “twelve sentences?”
Because we can _select new events_.
How do we know that “potatoes” in the singular should not have an “e” at
the end?
Because they spell _O stop at e_!
What should be done to a “misanthrope?”
_Spare him not._
What was the owl of “Minerva?”
_A vermin!_
These, wherever they are found,
Cluster lightly overhead.
Should you chance to turn them round
Blows may tell of weight instead.
Twisted in a foreign tongue,
You will see them as they are.
Changed again they need a bung
When you move them full and far.
This is solved by the anagram words _nuts_, _stun_, _sunt_, _tuns_.
(_Sunt_ is Latin for “they are.”)
IPSISSIMA VERBA
A discussion arose one day, in the winter season, between several
members of a West-end Club, as to the value of flannel underwear. A
London physician, who was appealed to, upheld the need for this, and it
was afterwards found that his name, Alfred James Andrew Lennane, treated
as an anagram, becomes “Man needs aired flannel wear.” This was
singular, but a much more curious coincidence of similar sort was
discovered by an expert in anagrams.
Another member took quite an opposite view, and declared that all should
wear linen. By a wonderful chance his name, Edward Bernard Kinsila,
resolves itself into the _actual words_ that came from his lips--“A
d---- bad risk Dr., wear linen!”
A CHRISTMAS CARD
| |
-+----------------------------------+-
| AN ANAGRAM |
| |
|“Christmas comes but once a year.”|
|So by Christ came a rescue to man.|
-+----------------------------------+-
| |
PALINDROMES
OR
SENTENCES THAT READ BOTH WAYS
NAPOLEON’S PALINDROME
Able was I ere I saw Elba.
ADAM AND EVE’S PALINDROME
Madam, I’m Adam!
When Charles Grant, Colonial Secretary, was made Lord Glenelg, in 1835,
he was called Mr Facing-both-ways, because his title Glenelg was a
perfect palindrome, that could be read with the same result from either
end.
It was a member of the same family who sought to prove the antiquity of
his race by altering an “i” into an “r” in his family Bible, so that the
text ran, “there were Grants on the earth in those days.”
A GOOD PALINDROME
“Roma, ibi tibi sedes, ibi tibi amor,” which may be rendered, “At Rome
you live, at Rome you love;” is a sentence which reads alike from either
end.
A QUAINT PALINDROME
Eve damned Eden, mad Eve!
This sentence reads alike from either end.
A good specimen of a palindrome is this German saying that can be read
from either end:--
Bei Leid lieh stets Heil die Lieb
(In trouble comfort is lent by love.)
Here are some ingenious palindromes, which can be read from either
end:--
Repel evil as a live leper.
Dog, as a devil deified, lived as a god.
Do Good’s deeds live never even? Evil’s deeds do O God!
A SCHOOLBOY’S PALINDROME
“Subi dura a rudibus”
“I have, endured roughness from the rod” which can be read alike from
either end.
Very notable as a long palindrome, even if it is not true record of the
great surgeon’s experience, is this quaint sentence:--“Paget saw an
Irish tooth, sir, in a waste gap.”
A PEACE PALINDROME
Snug & raw was I ere I saw war & guns.
This sentence reads alike from either end.
A PALINDROME PUZZLE
A turning point in every day,
Reversed I do not alter.
One half of me says haste away!
The other bids me falter.--_Noon._
Very remarkable for its length and good sense combined is the following
palindrome, which can be read from either end with the same
result:--“No, it is opposed, art sees trades opposition.”
A PERFECT PALINDROME
Perhaps the most perfect of English palindromes is the excellent adage--
“Egad, a base tone denotes a bad age.”
Here is the most remarkable Latin palindrome on record:--
SATOR AREPO TENET OPERA ROTAS
Its distinguishing peculiarity is that the first letters of each
successive word unite to form the first word, the second letters spell
the second word, and so on throughout the five words; and as the whole
sentence is a perfect palindrome, this is also true on reversal.
[Illustration]
SOLUTIONS
No. III.--A BOOK AND ITS AUTHOR
The well-known book and its author which are represented by
[Illustration: A||]
are “Innocents Abroad,” by Mark Twain. (In no sense A broad, by mark
twain.)
No. IV.--ON THE SHUTTERS
+-----------------+-----------------+
| No.|I |
| JOHN MAR|SHALL |
| IN ATTEN|DANCE |
| FROM 8 A.M.|DAILY |
| BARBER|AND |
| HAIR C|UTTER |
| THE BALD CRY A|LOUD |
| FOR HI|S CREAMS |
| AS DISPLAYED|IN THIS WINDOW |
|WHICH MAKE HAIR G|LISTEN |
| CLOSES|AFTER 8 P.M. |
+-----------------+-----------------+
The shutter on the left blew open, leaving the other to tell its strange
tale.
No. VI.--SOLVITUR AMBULANDO
A man, tracing step by step the various readings of ROTATOR on this
chequered floor, can exhaust all of them, according to the arrangement
on our diagram, in 21,648 steps, spelling out the word as he goes in the
many directions 3608 separate times!
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
|=R=| O | T | A | T | O |=R=| O | T | A | T | O |=R=|
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| O |=R=| O | T | A | T | O | T | A | T | O |=R=| O |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| T | O |=R=| O | T | A | T | A | T | O |=R=| O | T |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| A | T | O |=R=| O | T | A | T | O |=R=| O | T | A |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| T | A | T | O |=R=| O | T | O |=R=| O | T | A | T |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| O | T | A | T | O |=R=| O |=R=| O | T | A | T | O |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
|=R=| O | T | A | T | O |=R=| O | T | A | T | O |=R=|
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| O | T | A | T | O |=R=| O |=R=| O | T | A | T | O |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| T | A | T | O |=R=| O | T | O |=R=| O | T | A | T |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| A | T | O |=R=| O | T | A | T | O |=R=| O | T | A |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| T | O |=R=| O | T | A | T | A | T | O |=R=| O | T |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| O |=R=| O | T | A | T | O | T | A | T | O |=R=| O |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
|=R=| O | T | A | T | O |=R=| O | T | A | T | O |=R=|
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
This large total is due mainly to the fact that ROTATOR is a palindrome,
and lends itself to both backward and forward reading. The man, a
veritable rotator, will thus have walked more than four miles within a
compass of one hundred and forty-four square feet.
No. VIII.--AN OLD SAMPLER
| |
-+----------------------------+-
| AL. IT. |
|T.L. EW. O. MA! |
|N.T. Ho! UGH AVE. Ryli. |
|T.T. Let. Hi! N.G.I. |
|S.S. We. Et. Erf. Art. Ha!|
|N.S. Ug. Ara. N.D.F. Lo! |
|W.E. R.S.T. Ha! TB. |
|L.O. O! Mins. Pri. |
| N. G. |
-+----------------------------+-
| |
The cross-stitch legend on the old sampler, if its letters are read in
regular sequence, runs thus:--
A little woman, though a very little thing,
Is sweeter far than sugar, and flowers that bloom in spring.
No. XII.--STRIKE A BALANCE
This diagram shows how, while the odd and even numbers of the nine
digits add up to 25 and 20 respectively, they can be arranged in two
groups so that the odd and the even add up to exactly the same sum.
+----------------------+
/| |\
+-+----------------------+-+
| | 1 | |
| | 3 2 | |
| | 5 4 | |
| | 7 6 79 | |
| | 9 8 5¹⁄₃ 84²⁄₆ | |
| | -- -- ----- ----- | |
| | 25 20 84¹⁄₃ 84¹⁄₃ | |
| | ==================== | |
+-+----------------------+-+
\| |/
+----------------------+
No. XIII.--PUZZLE LINES
The puzzle lines--
HKISTA!
MRS LR’S SR
MR LR KRS.
“BLR MR LR!”
MRS LR HRS--
when read according to the usual pronunciation of Mr and Mrs, and taking
the title from the Greek, become, by affinity of sound--
_He kissed her!_
Mrs Lister’s sister
Mr Lister kisses.
“Blister Mr Lister!”
Mrs Lister hisses.
No. XIV.--IN MEMORIAM
The puzzle epitaph--
| |
-+-------------------------+-
|WEON . CEW . ERET . WO |
|WET . WOM . ADEO . NE |
|NON . EFIN . DUST . WO |
|NO . WLI . FEB . EGO . NE|
| WILLIAM and MARGARET |
| TAYLOR |
| Anno Domini 1665 |
-+-------------------------+-
| |
reads thus--
We once were two,
We two made one.
None find us two
Now life be gone.
No. XVI.--A QUAINT EPITAPH
| |
-+------------------------------+-
|IT - OBIT - MORTI - MERA|
|PUBLI - CANO - FACTO - NAM |
|AT - RES - T - M - ANNO - XXX |
|ALETHA - TE - VERITAS |
|TE - DE - QUA - LV - VASTO |
|MI - NE - A - JOVI - ALTO |
|PERAGO - O - DO - NE - AT |
|STO - UT - IN - A - POTOR - AC|
|AN - IV - VAS - NE - VER - A |
| =R - I - P= |
-+------------------------------+-
| |
reads into English thus:--
“I Tobit Mortimer, a publican of Acton, am at rest. Man, no treble X ale
that ever I tasted equal was to mine. A jovial toper, a good one at
stout in a pot or a can, I was never a rip!”
No. XIX.--SHAKESPEARE RECAST
If you start with the first =T= in this combination, and then take every
third letter--
+----------------------+
|HOUSE.CANOE.AFTER. |
|HOUR.PRINT.CAVE.CHILD |
|SASH.SLEVE.ACORN. |
|AMPLE.SAD.TATTA.HENA |
|MAT.ACHE.CAKE.TACHES, |
|HELIAC.SACQUE.USUAL. |
|ARBOR.SEE.MULCH.JACUR.|
| USE.STOP. |
+----------------------+
you will form the popular quotation, “Thrice is he armed that hath his
quarrel just.”
No. XX.--A DOUBLE ACROSTIC
The excellent double Acrostic--
An old Italian bird we know
Whose heart was ever touched by snow.
1. None can press me without pain,
Pressure is against the grain.
2. I am a king without my head.
3. Here is another king instead.
is solved thus:--
CORNIX
1. C or N
2. (R) O -- I
3. R e X
We may tell those of our readers who have not studied the dead languages
that _cornix_ is the Latin for a crow, and that the word can be broken
up into _cor_, heart, and _nix_, snow, while _rex_ is, of course, a king
in Latin, as _roi_ is in French. The double meaning of corn is brought
out by “against the grain.”
No. XXI.--HIDDEN PROVERBS
The five hidden proverbs are:--
“A rolling stone gathers no moss.”
“Too many cooks spoil the broth.”
“A live dog is more to be feared than a dead lion.”
“You cannot eat your cake and have it.”
“Peace hath her victories no less renowned than war.”
Start from the central A, and work round and round.
No. XXVII.--WAS IT VOLAPÜK?
Read backwards it becomes “Old birds are not caught with chaff.”
No. XXVIII.--ANOTHER EPITAPH
(_On an Old Pie Woman_)
BENE AT hint HEDU S.T.T.H. emo Uldy O
L.D.C. RUSTO F.N.E. L.L.B.
AC. hel orl AT Ely
W ASS hove N.W. how ASS Kill’d
Int heart SOF pi escu Star
D. sand Tart Sand K N ewe,
Ver yus E oft he ove N.W. Hens he
’Dliv’ Dlon geno
UG H.S. hem Ade he R la STP uffap
UF FBY HE RHU
S. B an D. M.
Uchp R.A. is ’D no Wheres He dot
H L. i.e. TOM a Kead I.R.T.P. Iein hop est
Hat he R.C. Rust W I
L.L.B. ERA IS’D----!
This puzzle epitaph, written aright, runs thus:--
Beneath in the dust the mouldy old crust
Of Nell Bachelor lately was shoven,
Who was skilled in the arts of pies, custards, and tarts,
And knew every use of the oven.
When she’d liv’d long enough she made her last puff,
A puff by her husband much prais’d;
Now here she doth lie to make a dirt pie,
In hopes that her crust may be rais’d.
No. XXXI.--BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| | | | | | | | |
| tle | to | a |cat- |life | and |live | In |
| | | | | | | | |
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| | | | | | | | |
| By | tle | ow- |bro | of | non |tle |fall |
| | | |wse | | | | |
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| | | | | | | | |
| ter |tur- | gain| like|land |one’s|quiet| And |
| | | | | | | | |
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| | | | | | | | |
| of | ar | Bet-| me | and |Than | a- |bat- |
| | m | | ad- | | | | |
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| | | | | | | | |
|bask | Be | lau-| or | tle |ness |done |wan- |
| | t- | | | | | | |
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| | | | | | | | |
| rel | let |Than |die |With | der | of | smo |
| | | | | | | | ke |
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| | | | | | | | |
| ter | in |brain|myr- | on | and |har- | un- |
| | | | | | | | |
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| | | | | | | | |
| Ch | or |to |sun |with |work | In |heat |
| ap- | | | | | | |
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
The “Knight’s Tour” verses run as follows:--
Better to die with harness on
In smoke and heat of battle,
Than wander and browse, and fall anon
In quiet of meadow-land cattle.
Better to gain, by arm or brain,
Chaplet of laurel or myrtle,
Than bask in sun, with work undone,
And live one’s life like a turtle,
beginning with “Bet,” and ending in the top left-hand corner.
No. XXXII.--A BROKEN SQUARE
The Broken Word Square is made perfect thus--
S O B E R
O L I V E
B I S O N
E V O K E
R E N E W
No. XXXIII.--A KNIGHT’S TOUR PROVERB
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| | | | | | | |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| | | | |E| | |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| | |E| | | |T|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| | | |L|H| | |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| |E| |R| |S| |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| | |E|A|S| | |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|D| |E| |O| |S|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| | | |S|P| |M|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
To solve the “Knight’s Tour” proverb start with M, and by a succession
of moves, as of a knight on the chess-board, you can spell out the
proverb “More haste less speed.”
No. XXXIV.--GUARINI’S PROBLEM
The solution of Guarini’s Problem, to transpose the positions of the
white and black knights on the subjoined diagram on which they appear,
is made clear by following the moves on the lettered diagram:--
+---+---+---+
| N |...| N |
+---+---+---+
|...| |...|
+---+---+---+
| n |...| n |
+---+---+---+
+---+---+---+
| a | C | d |
+---+---+---+
| D | | B |
+---+---+---+
| b | A | c |
+---+---+---+
First move the pieces from a to A, from b to B, from c to C, and from d
to D. Then move them from A to d, from B to a, from C to b, and from D
to c. The effect so far is as if the original square had been rotated
through one right angle. Repeat the same sequence of moves, and the
required change of positions is completed.
No. XXXV.--AN ANAGRAM SQUARE
This is the solution of the Word Square.
+-------------+
| A M E N D S |
| M I N I O N |
| E N A B L E |
| N I B B L E |
| D O L L A R |
| S N E E R S |
+-------------+
No. XXXVII.--A KNIGHT’S TOUR
The letters on the board below, read aright in the order of a Knight’s
moves at chess, starting from the most central E form the following
popular proverb:--
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|R|L|T|E|Y|L|R|O|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|Y|H|L|T|O|B|T|A|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|T|A|A|A| |H|T|I|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|E|L| |E|I|N|E|O|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|D|H|W| |Y|E|S|Y|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|R|T|E|S|D| |B|W|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|Y|N|E|S|N|D|A|E|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|H|A|A|A|W|I|D|E|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
“Early to bed, and early to rise,
Is the way to be healthy, and wealthy, and wise.”
No. XXXVIII.--A WORD SQUARE
Dr Puzzlewitz completed his Word Square thus:--
E R A S E
R A V E N
A V E R T
S E R V E
E N T E R
No. XXXIX.--THE SQUAREST WORD
This is completed thus:--
D E L F
E V I L
L I V E
F L E D
It will be seen that there are four distinct readings of each word.
No. XL.--A PUZZLE DIAMOND
The Diamond is completed thus:--
D
T I P
T I A R A
D I A M O N D
P R O U D
A N D
D
No. XLI.--A DEFECTIVE DIAMOND
The Defective Diamond is completed thus:--
S
G E M
P E R I L
G E N E R A L
S E R E N A D E R
M I R A C L E
L A D L E
L E E
R
No. XLIII.--LETTER PUZZLE
The word is _Level_, filled in thus:--
L E V E L
E E E E
V V V
E E E E
L E V E L
No. XLVII.--THE CIRCLE SQUARED
The Circle can be squared thus:--
C I R C L E
I N U R E S
R U L E S T
C R E A S E
L E S S E E
E S T E E M
No. XLVIII.--A BROKEN SQUARE
This is the completed Square:--
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|B|O|A|S|T|E|R|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|O|B|S|C|E|N|E|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|A|S|S|E|R|T|S|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|S|C|E|P|T|R|E|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|T|E|R|T|I|A|N|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|E|N|T|R|A|N|T|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|R|E|S|E|N|T|S|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
No. XLIX.--A CARD PROBLEM
Here is the arrangement of the aces, kings, queens, and knaves of a pack
of cards in a kind of Magic Square:--
+--------+--------+--------+--------+
| CLUBS | SPADES | HEARTS |DIAMONDS|
| ACE | KING | QUEEN | KNAVE |
+--------+--------+--------+--------+
|HEARTS |DIAMONDS| CLUBS | SPADES |
| KNAVE | QUEEN | KING | ACE |
+--------+--------+--------+--------+
|DIAMONDS| HEARTS | SPADES | CLUBS |
| KING | ACE | KNAVE | QUEEN |
+--------+--------+--------+--------+
| SPADES | CLUBS |DIAMONDS| HEARTS |
| QUEEN | KNAVE | ACE | KING |
+--------+--------+--------+--------+
In each row, column, and diagonal, one, and one only, of the four suits
and of the four denominations is represented.
No. L.--TURF-CUTTING
The eight thin strips of turf, cut from my lawn to form the four sides
of two square rose-borders, can be placed on a level surface of soil
thus without being broken or bent:--
[Illustration]
This forms a framework for the three flower-beds of similar shape and
size.
No. LI.--A READY RECKONER
The gardener decided that the water-butt was more than half-full thus:--
[Illustration]
He tilted it steadily, and some of the water ran over its edge before
the bottom corner _A_ came into sight; but as soon as the water level
stood at _A B_ the cask was exactly half full.
No. LII.--A TRANSFORMATION
The flat-headed 3 can be turned into a 5 by one continuous line, without
scratching out any portion of the 3, by treating the flat top of the 3
as part of a square drawn round the 5, thus:--
[Illustration]
No. LIII.--A CLEAR COURSE
Here is a list of ninety-two positions, in which eight pieces can be
placed upon the chess or draughtboard so that each has a clear course in
every direction.
++==+====+====+==+====+====+==+====+====+==+====+====++
|| 1|1586|3724|24|3681|5724|47|5146|8273|70|6318|5247||
|| 2|1683|7425|25|3682|4175|48|5184|2736|71|6357|1428||
|| 3|1746|8253|26|3728|5146|49|5186|3724|72|6358|1427||
|| 4|1758|2463|27|3728|6415|50|5246|8317|73|6372|4815||
|| 5|2468|3175|28|3847|1625|51|5247|3861|74|6372|8514||
|| 6|2571|3864|29|4158|2736|52|5261|7483|75|6374|1825||
|| 7|2574|1863|30|4158|6372|53|5281|4736|76|6415|8273||
|| 8|2617|4835|31|4258|6137|54|5316|8247|77|6428|5713||
|| 9|2683|1475|32|4273|6815|55|5317|2864|78|6471|3528||
||10|2736|8514|33|4273|6851|56|5384|7162|79|6471|8253||
||11|2758|1463|34|4275|1863|57|5713|8642|80|6824|1753||
||12|2861|3574|35|4285|7136|58|5714|2863|81|7138|6425||
||13|3175|8246|36|4286|1357|59|5724|8136|82|7241|8536||
||14|3528|1746|37|4615|2837|60|5726|3148|83|7263|1485||
||15|3528|6471|38|4682|7135|61|5726|3184|84|7316|8524||
||16|3571|4286|39|4683|1752|62|5741|3862|85|7382|5164||
||17|3584|1726|40|4718|5263|63|5841|3627|86|7425|8136||
||18|3625|8174|41|4738|2516|64|5841|7263|87|7428|6135||
||19|3627|1485|42|4752|6138|65|6152|8374|88|7531|6824||
||20|3627|5184|43|4753|1682|66|6271|3584|89|8241|7536||
||21|3641|8572|44|4813|6275|67|6271|4853|90|8253|1746||
||22|3642|8571|45|4815|7263|68|6317|5824|91|8316|2574||
||23|3681|4752|46|4853|1726|69|6318|4275|92|8413|6275||
++==+====+====+==+====+====+==+====+====+==+====+====++
The numbers indicate the position on the eight successive columns of the
cells on which the men are to be placed. Of course, many similar
arrangements arise from merely turning the board.
No. LIV.--QUARRELSOME NEIGHBOURS
This diagram shows, by the dotted lines, how the three unfriendly
neighbours made the covered pathways to their gates, so that they might
never meet or cross each other’s paths.
[Illustration]
No. LVI.--THE CROSS KEYS
The Cross Keys puzzle when put together takes the form shown below.
[Illustration]
The method is as follows:--Hold _a_ upright between forefinger and thumb
of left hand. With the right hand push _b_ through the slot until the
further edge of the middle slot is nearly even with the outer edge of
_a_. Then lower _c_, held with the short arm of the cross nearest to
you, over the top of _a_, so that the central portion passes through the
cross cut in _b_. Finally push _b_ towards the centre, until the
transverse cut is hidden, and the puzzle is completed.
No. LVII.--THE NABOB’S DIAMONDS
When the children of the Indian Nabob divided his diamonds, the first
taking one stone and a seventh of the remainder, the second two stones
and a seventh of what was left, the third three under similar
conditions, and so on till all were taken, there were 36 diamonds and 6
children.
The division is prettily illustrated thus:--
○○○○○
○○○○○● ○○○○○
○○○○○● ○○○○○
○○○○○● ○○○○○
○○○○○● ○○○○○
○○○○○● ○○○○○
○○○○○● ●●●●●●
○○○○
○○○○● ○○○○
○○○○● ○○○○
○○○○● ○○○○
○○○○● ○○○○
○○○○● ○○○○
○○○○● ●●●●●●
○○○
○○○● ○○○
○○○● ○○○
○○○● ○○○
○○○● ○○○
○○○● ○○○
○○○● ●●●●●●
This shows how the first three took their shares, indicated by black
dots, the remainder being carried down each time, and by similar process
three more claimants would exhaust all the diamonds.
No. LVIII.--A CARD CHAIN
To solve the Card Chain puzzle take a card about 5 in. by 3 in., as
shown below, draw a light pencil line from _A_ to _B_ and from _C_ to
_D_, lay the card in water till you can split its edges down to the
pencil lines, and put it aside to dry.
With a sharp knife cut quite through the straight lines, but only half
through the dotted lines on the split edges. The corresponding figures
show the bar of each link, marking its two parts, which are connected by
the upper and under halves of the split portion. A little patient
ingenuity will now release link after link, and thus complete the chain.
[Illustration]
No. LIX.--STRAY DOTS
+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
|\ | / \ | / \ | / \ | /|\ | / \ | / \ | / \ | /|
+--+-----+-----+-----+--+--+-----+-----●-----+--+
|/ | \ / | \ / | \ / | \|/ | \ / | \ / | \ / | \|
|\ | / \ | / \ | / \ | /|\ | / \ | / \ | / \ | /|
+--+-----+-----+-----●--+--+-----+-----+-----+--+
|/ | \ / | \ / | \ / | \|/ | \ / | \ / | \ / | \|
|\ | / \ | / \ | / \ | /|\ | / \ | / \ | / \ | /|
+--+-----●-----+-----+--+--+-----+-----+-----+--+
|/ | \ / | \ / | \ / | \|/ | \ / | \ / | \ / | \|
|\ | / \ | / \ | / \ | /|\ | / \ | / \ | / \ | /|
+--+-----+-----+-----+--+--●-----+-----+-----+--+
|/ | \ / | \ / | \ / | \|/ | \ / | \ / | \ / | \|
+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--●--+
|\ | / \ | / \ | / \ | /|\ | / \ | / \ | / \ | /|
+--+-----+-----+-----+--+--+-----+-----+-----+--+
|/ | \ / | \ / | \ / | \|/ | \ / | \ / | \ / | \|
|\ | / \ | / \ | / \ | /|\ | / \ | / \ | / \ | /|
+--●-----+-----+-----+--+--+-----+-----+-----+--+
|/ | \ / | \ / | \ / | \|/ | \ / | \ / | \ / | \|
|\ | / \ | / \ | / \ | /|\ | / \ | / \ | / \ | /|
+--+-----+-----●-----+--+--+-----+-----+-----+--+
|/ | \ / | \ / | \ / | \|/ | \ / | \ / | \ / | \|
|\ | / \ | / \ | / \ | /|\ | / \ | / \ | / \ | /|
+--+-----+-----+-----+--+--+-----●-----+-----+--+
|/ | \ / | \ / | \ / | \|/ | \ / | \ / | \ / | \|
+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
No. LX.--THE OPEN DOOR
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|A |
+ + + + + + + + +
| |
+ + + + + + + + +
| |
+ + + + + + + + +
| |
+ + + + + + + + +
| |
+ + + + + + + + +
| |
+ + + + + + + + +
| |
+ + + + + + + + +
| |
+ + + + + + + + +
| x |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
The prisoner who is placed in the cell marked A, and is promised his
liberty if he can reach the door at _X_ by passing through all the
cells, entering each once only, gains his freedom by passing from _A_ to
the cell below, and thence _returning_ to _A_, and leaving it again _by
the other door_; his further course then is quite simple.
No. LXII.--LEAP FROG
[Illustration]
Move 9 to 13, 3 to 9, 7 to 3, 22 to 7, 18 to 22, 24 to 18, 9 to 24, 13
to 9, 7 to 13, 3 to 7, 18 to 3, 22 to 18.
No. LXIII.--MUSIC HATH CHARMS
is explained by the couplet--
“From _Handel_ I learn
As my _handle_ I turn.”
No. LXVII.--A SWARM OF WORDS
This is the key
M
A
M A D A M
A
M
If these letters form each of the five crosses the conditions are all
fulfilled.
[Illustration]
In each cross the words Madam, Adam, Ada can be traced in sixteen
different directions, and the words Dam, am and a in four directions, so
that there are no less than three hundred and twenty readings of these
words in the whole mystic cross, and sixty-four in each separate cross,
though only three different letters are used.
No. LXVIII.--AFTER SOME SAD REVERSE
[Illustration]
No. LXX.--A PICTURE PUZZLE
“A misunderstanding between friends.”
No. LXXIV.--A NERVOUS SHOCK
[Illustration]
No. LXXVIII.--A TRANSPARENCY
[Illustration: 7119791/1119]
No. LXXXII.--A RE-BUS
It was _Incubus_ that the driver of a London Road car hurled as a
scornful charge, at his rival on a motor car.
No. LXXXV.--CHEQUERS AND STRIPES
+---+ +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+
| 2 | | 1 | | 3 | | 3 | | 3 |
| | | | | | | | | |
| 2 | | 4 | | 1 | | 4 | | 3 |
+---+ +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+
+---+ +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
+---+ +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+
+---+ +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+
| 1 | | 3 | | 3 | | 5 | | 5 |
| | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | | 6 | | 5 | | 6 | | 5 |
+---+ +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+
+---+ +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
+---+ +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+
Put a finger on one of the black backs in the top row, and move that
stone round to the bottom of its column, then push upward, so that each
stone rises into the row above it. Repeat this with the other back, and
the stripes are formed.
No. LXXXVIII.--A PICTURE PUZZLE
The eight animals hidden in this wood are-- _Giraffe_, _Lion_, _Camel_,
_Elephant_, _Hog_, _Horse_, _Bear_, _Hound_.
[Illustration]
No. XC.--A REBUS
[Illustration]
The solution is _Wellington_.
No. XCV.--THE PUZZLED CARPENTER
The carpenter, anxious to stop a leak, was able to cut a board a foot
square from a board two feet square, which was pierced at regular
intervals by sixteen holes, by the following ingenious method:--
[Illustration]
No. XCVI.--NOT EASY WHEN YOU KNOW
The solution of the puzzling match rearrangement is as follows:--We
repeat the original five square diagram, from which four squares were to
be formed by rearranging three matches, and its solution below.
+-----+ +-----+
| | | |
| | | |
+-----+-----+-----+
| | | |
| | | |
+-----+-----+-----+
+-----+ +-----+
| | | |
| | | |
+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| | | |
| | | |
+-----+ +-----+
No. XCVII.--SIMPLICITY
When we have constructed this figure with five matches, we can remove
three of the matches, and then replace two of them so as to form a
similar figure, by moving any three of them a short distance, and then
replacing the two that are left behind, in their original positions!
This “catch” finds many victims.
/\
/ \
/ \
------
\ /
\ /
\/
No. XCIX.--FROM THE MATCHBOX
The diagram below shows how eight matches can be removed from the
nine-square arrangement so as to leave two squares on the table.
----- ----- -----
| |
| |
-----
| | | |
| | | |
-----
| |
| |
----- ----- -----
MISSING WORDS SOLUTIONS
1
What tempting _sprite_ beguiled the boy to sample
Fruit that hung _ripest_ on the parson’s trees?
_Stripe_ upon _stripe_ shall make him an example
When the stern _priest_ has brought him to his knees.
2
Man of the dark room, _traces_ none I find
Upon these _cartes_ of likeness to my features.
_Carest_ thou naught, O man of evil mind,
Who _racest_ thus to libel fellow creatures?
Evil thus done _reacts_ upon the doer,
The _carets_ in thy conduct, sir, are many;
_Recast_ thy life, and let thy crimes be fewer,
Or all thy _crates_ of good won’t fetch a penny!
3
The missing words all spelt with the same
seven letters, are _tho’ near_, _a hornet_, _or neath_, _nor
hate_, _or then a_, _near hot_, _than o’er_, _ten hoar_, _the
roan_, and _eat horn_.
4
’Neath _bluest_ Indian seas fierce battles spread
’Twixt _subtle_ hermit-crabs and other shellfish!
With horrid _bustle_ when their foes are dead
These crabs declare their shells _sublet_, so selfish.
5
Though _seated_ secure and _sedate_ in his cage,
Our Polly, when _teased_, will fly into a rage.
6
All courtly honours are but light
As grains that from a _grater_ fly;
And he who wears the _Garter_ bright
May haply in a _garret_ die.
7
I’d rather from a _manger_ eat,
I give my sacred word,
Than dine in slums where _ragmen_ meet,
And _German_ pedlars herd.
8
A much married _grandee_ of Cadiz
Once _angered_ some riotous ladies.
To _derange_ him they chucked
A _grenade_, but he ducked,
Which _enraged_ these rude ladies of Cadiz.
9
A lass and her lover were _warned_ by the sky
Not to _wander_ too far where no shelter was nigh.
She lingered behind, and _drew an_ old church,
St. _Andrew_ by name, and was left in the lurch.
She tried a short cut through the park on the grass,
But sternly the _warden_ forbade her to pass.
Then helplessly stood the disconsolate maid,
When the lad she was soon to _wed ran_ to her aid.
10
When _weather_ smiles, and sunbeams play
On flowers that _wreathe_ and deck the green,
_Whate’er_ can match the scene so gay
_Whereat_ they crown the May-day queen?
11
’Tis said of William, while his forces rested
On Albion’s _shores_, when Harold had been bested,
He made the _shoers_ of his _horses_ fuse
Saxon spear-heads, to fashion into shoes.
12
Happiness, brighter than _rubies_, is dead;
Life’s battle, sterner and _busier_ now,
Heals the sore _bruise_ that love left as it fled,
_Buries_ remembrance of long-broken vow!
13
Press critics fall on me like sharks:
“A shameless _patcher_ of odds and ends,
No _chapter_ original,” and more remarks
In adverse mood. But stay, my friends,
He _carpeth_ best who hath his record clean;
My faults are published, yours are yet unseen!
14
_Plates_ are his _staple_, fashion-forms of grace
In _pastel_ deftly hinted.
_Pleats_ soft as _petals_, crowned by Beauty’s face,
In _palest_ hues are tinted.
15
When Kate _no heart_ _nor heat_ displayed
_He ran to_ hide a tear;
“All love is dead _on earth_,” he said.
“_Another_ I’ll _not hear_!”
16
Some grinding at the _tholes_ must toil,
Down-trodden _helots_ of to-day;
While other children of the soil
In vast _hotels_ their wealth display.
17
Betrayed by faithless friends, in _sadder_ mood
Man _dreads_ his fellows as the _adder’s_ brood.
18
With divers _inks_ his _skin_ is scarred,
He hangs a bangle in his nose;
Such marks secure his _kin’s_ regard,
Exalt his fame, and _sink_ his foes.
19
_Steward_, who, as we _west’ard_ roll,
_Drawest_ for me the foaming bowl,
And _wardest_ off unfriendly spray
With oilskin-cape, thou shalt not say
“In vain I’ve _strawed_ my favours here.”
I’ll think of thee when port is near!
20
With high _ideals_ for hearts and hands,
These _ladies_ _sailed_ for distant lands.
21
The _premiss_ of his speech did not
_Impress_ his audience a jot.
They greeted all he said thereafter
With _simpers_, smiles, and open laughter.
22
To convent shrine at break of day
With _palms_ together nuns repair;
Mid gleaming _lamps_ they kneel and pray,
And chanted _psalm_ allays each care.
23
Here once, as a hag is bedizened with paint,
A _devil_ _lived_, _veil’d_ in the garb of a saint.
24
The missing words of the lines “In praise of Sussex,” are _apers_,
_rapes_, _spear_, _spare_, _pears_, _reaps_, _parse_, _pares_, all spelt
with the same letters.
25
The missing words are _there_, _ether_, and _three_.
26
The missing words are _trades_, _daters_, _treads_, _darest_, and
_read’st_.
27
The _Tsar_ with _arts_ importunate
To rule his _tars_ may try;
His _star_ is so unfortunate
That “_rats_” they may reply!
28
The missing words are _mace_, _acme_, and _came_.
29
The missing words are _esprit_, _sprite_, _priest_, _stripe_, and
_ripest_.
30
Of all destructive country pests
The farmer _loves_ _voles_ least;
He cannot yet the puzzle _solve_
How to suppress the beast!
31
The “Fresh Air Fund” missing words are given below in italics:--
OH THE _LUSTRE_ OF THE _RESULT_
The _slimes_ of darkest London are radiant with _smiles_,
You can _read_ it in their _dear_ little faces:
So wherever you _reside_ let it be your heart’s _desire_
To ease the _cares_ and sorrows of all _races_!
32
She _rouges_ in vain, “Men are _rogues_, and as shy
As _grouse_ in October,” she says with a sigh.
33
When good men lapse the _Serpent_ grins,
When one _repents_ he swears;
And strives to set his former sins
Against his _present_ prayers.
34
His hands and face were _swart_, and sad
Upon the _straw_ a gipsy lad
Lay: as the breeze his temples fanned
He counted _warts_ on either hand.
35
In yon grey _manse_ an old divine
Taught me my “_mensa_” to decline,
And verbs with _names_ of mood and tense;
But while I plodded on apace
I had to keep the _means_ of grace,
And close his prayers with loud _amens_.
36
No reckless _drawer_ of the sword,
He _warred_ his fatherland to save.
Fighting for freedom, not _reward_,
Now _warder_ of the eastern seas.
37
A fair _design_, though _singed_ and frayed,
The critic _deigns_ to own,
And it might interest the trade
If _signed_ by some one known.
38
In his _latter_ days, as when he was young,
The _tatler_ indulges in _rattle_ of tongue.
39
The missing words indicated in the lines which begin
A cylindrical lock
Where no key can be found.
are a _ringlet_, _triangle_, _relating_, _altering_, and _integral_,
which are all spelt with the same eight letters.
40
The lines with missing words, which are increased each time by one
letter, run thus:--
A lover of _an_ unkind fair
Were less than _man_ did he not _moan_,
“Mine is no _nomad_ life, I swear,
It dwells in this _domain_ alone.
Grant me thy love, like _diamond_ chaste
_On diadem_, lest thou live unwooed,
_Doomed in a_ lonely life to waste
The treasure of sweet _maidenhood_.”
41
The missing words are _bared_, _beard_, _debar_, _bread_.
42
THE PAUPER’S PLAINT
Pale penury that _rivest_ social bands,
And any link that _rivets_ worth to fame,
Take ye the blame for my inactive hands,
I _strive_ in vain to build upon the sands,
Without a _stiver_, who can make a name?
43
Mr Backslide, afflicted with weakness of mind,
_Cantered_ over to Lushington’s inn, where he dined.
He _recanted_ the pledge he had taken as handy,
And emptied forthwith a _decanter_ of brandy.
44
The missing words are indicated below by italics:--
A _sutler_ sat in his _ulster_ grey,
Watching the moonbeams _lustre_ play
On a keg that in the bushes lay;
And these were the words of his song:--
“Thou _rulest_ the weak, thou _lurest_ the strong,
To thee the _result_ of bad deeds doth belong.”
And the leaves with a _rustle_ took up the sad song.
It would be difficult to find a better specimen than this of seven words
spelt with the same letters.
45
In these lines each of the words in italics is longer by one letter than
the one before, the same letters being carried on in varied order:--
Nature _I_ love _in_ every land,
On burning plain, by wooded rill;
Where _Ind_ is girt by coral strand,
Or _Edin_ rears her castled hill.
Then _deign_ from me the tale to hear,
How, true to one _design_, the bee
Once _singled_ out keeps year by year
The _leadings_ by her instinct given,
Which teach her, wheresoe’er she roam,
In every clime beneath the heaven,
To build the same _six-angled_ home.
46
The missing words are _smite_, _times_, _emits_, _items_, and _mites_.
47
The missing words of the Farmyard puzzle are printed in italics:--
All his flock from _danger_ rough,
To the _garden_ ran apace,
Where their _gander_, old and tough,
_Ranged_, the guardian of his race.
48
Come, landlord, fill the flowing _pots_,
Until their _tops_ run over;
For in this _spot_ to-night I’ll _stop_,
To-morrow _post_ to Dover!
49
The four missing words are _silent_, _listen_, _enlist_, and _tinsel_,
which are all spelt with the same letters.
50
Some men their _teams_ escorted on their way,
When “_Mates_ look here!” I heard a driver say:
“It _tames_ our pluck to toil like _steam_ all day,
When, wanting _meats_, we starve on wretched pay.”
51
WISDOM WHILE YOU WAIT
As a _general_ _gleaner_ of facts you’ll find
Our Encyclopædia _enlarge_ the mind.
52
The missing words are _nectar_, _Cretan_, _canter_, _trance_, _recant_.
53
_I Satan_ but for rebel act
Without _a stain_ should be;
But this _is at an_ end, in fact
None find _a saint_ in me.
54
“Oh for a _break_ in this vast solitude,
This endless rise and fall of _brake_ and moor!”
Soliloquised a _baker_ in sad mood,
As through the lonely hills the staff of life he bore.
55
THE SEA SERPENT
’Twas in _mid-ocean_ that we saw him play,
Like a _demoniac_ in his sports, and they
Amused us, as a good _comedian_ may.
56
Soup is _on table_ for a _notable_ divine,
Who with _no table_ is _not able_ to sit down and dine.
57
Sweet as the _rose_ and cruel as its thorn,
_Eros_ thy power is great, thy pity scorn.
Swift as the _roes_ that through the forest fly,
Deep as the _ores_ that deepest hidden lie,
Is thine own _sore_ to hapless mortals given,
Semblance of darkest hell or brightest heaven.
58
The missing words, dedicated to the Fresh Air Fund, read thus:--
GOOD _TIMES_ FOR CITY _MITES_
My pipe _emits_ for _me its_ charms, that yield
Pictures and _items_ of a children’s day.
Lest conscience _smite_ I _sit me_ down to say
My _mites_ shall send some City _mites_ afield.
59
He said “you _Cretan_,” when one lied,
He said “don’t _canter_,” when one hied,
His glass held _nectar_ at his side,
He can _recant_ what he denied.
60
Mr Snip, the _agnostic_, was _coasting_ a hill,
With a bag of new _coatings_ for stock;
When a runaway motor-car gave him a spill
Which scattered his doubts with the shock.
61
_Pales_ her fair cheek, and back o’er all
The _lapse_ of years _leaps_ memory.
Those wedding _peals_ to her recall
The _pleas_ he urged so tenderly.
62
Two burglars attempted to _rifle_ a house,
But the _filer_ was heard, though as still as a mouse.
When challenged at once he a _flier_ became,
But caught as a _lifer_ he finished his game.
63
The _licensed_ fool in olden days
Gave kings advice in jesting phrase;
He’s _silenced_ now: the modern throne
_Declines_ all follies but its own.
64
Days of _dearth_, and times of evil,
Starving girls with _thread_ do toil,
No man _dareth_ feast or revel,
Hushed is _hatred_ and turmoil.
65
Who _reineth_ in his pride and rage,
To _neither_ vice a prey,
May hope to reach a green old age,
And find _therein_ his stay.
66
This is the full text of Moore’s witty reply, when Limerick courted him
as her member, and the “boys for fun’s sake” asked him to what party he
belonged:--
“I’m of no party as a man,
But as a poet _am--a--tory_!”
67
Is England _Israel_? That this is so
A solemn _serial_ aspires to show.
By most ignored, the theme _is real_ to some,
Who gravely to the same conclusion come.
Like _Ariels_ o’er obstacles they soar,
And if an _earl is_ ’vert they rave the more.
68
Off to the links is now their cry,
For golf is man’s _idolatry_:
Be not _dilatory_ or slow,
_Adroitly_ hit the ball will go.
69
No maid e’er _resided_, North, South, East, or West,
More _desired_ than she who _derides_ Love’s request.
70
Though in _adversity_ I be,
It is, alas! _sad verity_
No _vestry aid_ comes nigh to me.
71
_Mastering_ his pride the royal James
Came down upon the _streaming_ Thames;
Like _emigrants_ his court repair
To breath _St Germain_’s freer air.
72
The drop letter lines are as follows:--
With lily leaves his oars are _trifling_,
Her eager hands their treasures _rifling_.
To the fair winds all cares _I fling_,
And echo faintly answers _fling_!
73
The solution of the enigma with missing letters:--
“There was no good ... in the d...y, so the klim,” is--
There was no good air in the dairy, so the milk turned.
74
But unmerciful disaster followed fast and followed faster.
75
If you write _stale_ _tales_, at _least_ do not _steal_ the _slate_.
76
The six missing words are _Siren_, _risen_, _Erin’s_, _reins_, _rinse_,
_resin_.
77
A man of _parts_ had caught a _sprat_,
And it was windy weather;
“Give me my _strap_,” he cried, “to fix
My fish and _traps_ together.”
78
The missing words are _Cesar_, _acres_, _races_, _cares_, _scare_.
79
Buy my ripe _melons_, my _lemons_ who’ll buy?
Don’t look so _solemn_, but take some and try!
80
He who _nips_ may _snip_ at last,
How to _spin_ we show;
Take a sixpence, hold it fast,
Press the _pins_ and blow!
[Illustration]
PRINTED BY M‘LAREN AND CO., LTD., EDINBURGH.
Transcriber’s Notes
Inconsistent spelling, hyphenation, capitalisation, etc. and lay-out
have been retained, except as mentioned below. The same applies to
repetitions, (factual) errors, mistakes, unclarities and
contradictions in the puzzles, riddles etc. and in the solutions
provided.
Depending on the hard- and software and their settings used to read
this text, not all elements may display as intended. Several of the
puzzles will only display as intended if a fixed-width font is used.
An attempt has been made to include, where possible, the illustrations
in this text. These are only rough approximations; the actual
illustrations (and therefore better representations of the book’s
contents) are available in the other formats provided at
www.gutenberg.org. Some of the larger elements have been split to fit
in the available width. Some of the symbols used for this graphic
representation are used to approximate the symbols used in the book
rather than for their usual meaning.
Domino tiles are represented by blocks with the number of pips
inscribed rather than by the pip patterns (or they are left blank to
indicate back sides). For the chess problems, a schematic
representation has been used, in which dots represent black squares,
and K, Q, B, R, N, P and k, q, b, r, n, and p represent white and
black king, queen, bishop, rook, knight and pawn respectively.
Page I-7, Monster Magic Square: row 2 column 2 should be 48, not 41;
row 3 column 9 should be 92, not 72.
Page I-30, magic triangle, bottom row 0 should be 8 (as in the
solution on page I-150).
Page I-89, "on opposite sides of the central line": this should be
read "on opposite sides of the central lines" (both horizontal and
vertical).
Page I-130, mens’ tears: as printed in the source document.
Page I-131, An Illusion of Type: the phenomenon described may not work
with every font.
Page I-136, For the Children, last sentence: the opposite is true: If
this is an even quantity the coins or sweets in the right hand are
odd, and in the left even; if it is odd the contrary is the case.
Page II-130, number 81: some words were misprinted or missing
altogether; these have been added based on the context: ... the man
[fe]ll sick ...; [Ho]w ought his estate ...; and ... to [the] widow,
son and daughter.
Page II-148, Notable Chronogram: IAVDES should have read LAVDES, which
would result in the year 1894 (when the organ was blessed).
Page II-176, Solution LXXX: The positions of the dots are indicated in
the text only, not in the diagram.
Page II-204, Solution 65, 12 + ¹⁄₂ = ¹³⁄₂: the calculation only works
if the 12 were replaced with ¹²⁄₂ (or 6), which would be in accordance
with the description.
Page II-206, Solution 77: _two_ and _twenty_ pence should probably
read _two and twenty_ pence.
Page III-3 and III-111, No. III: The illustration in the question is
not the same as the one in the answer.
Page III-25, Begins 2 U U U up: possibly an error for Begins 2 UU U up
(cf. other repeated letters).
Page III-35, No. XXXV, five words: there are six words in the puzzle
(and in the solution).
Page III-53, No. LIII: the occupied squares on the chess board are
indicated by an X.
Page III-77, inspiréd strain: as printed in the source document.
Changes made
Some obvious minor typographical and punctuation errors and misprints
have been corrected silently.
Some minor lay-out inconsistencies have been standardised without
further remarks; where necessary, table and text-elements have been
re-arranged and aligned in accordance with the description given.
The part numbers have been inserted on the blank pages preceding each
part.
Throughout the book, items from one category (preceded by an Arabic
number) are occasionally printed split over two pages, with one or
more items from other categories (often preceded by a Roman numeral)
between the several parts. For this text, these split items have been
recombined on the page where they originally started, and references
to their respective parts have been deleted.
The part numbers (I, II and III) have been added to the page numbers
for easier reference.
Page I-141: "cigars" changed to "cigares" (French, 2x).
Page II-99, 6¹ changed to 6¹⁄₂.
Pages II-113 and II-185, illustration: reference letter "F" added.
Page II-199: "there they sold" changed to "these they sold".
Page II-225, Solution 6: "f _on_ d l _over_" changed to "a f _on_ d l
_over_".
Page III-7, No. VII: "BVT In trVth" changed to "bVt In trVth".
Page III-7 and III-44, No. VII and XLIV: The chronographs were printed
in small capitals and upper case letters; the former have been
transcribed as lower case letters to retain the meaning according to
the description.
Page III-41, No. 67: "And if -- ---- is ’vert" changed to "And if an
---- -- ’vert".
Page III-46: "chêrit" changed to "chérit".
Page III-67, illustration: unprinted asterisk added to the right-hand
arm of the cross.
Page III-78: "a jamais" replaced with "à jamais".
Page III-108: "stats" replaced with "stets".
Page III-123, Solution XLIII: V inserted in bottom line cf. puzzle.
Page III-124: "stripes" changed to "strips" cf. puzzle.
Page III-128: "86 diamonds and 6 children" changed to "36 diamonds and
6 children".