"I see them on their winding way."
REGINALD HEBER.
It is reasonable to suppose that from the earliest ages one man has
asked another such questions as these: "Which is the nearest way home?"
"Which is the easiest or pleasantest way?" "How can we find a way that
will enable us to dodge the mastodon and the plesiosaurus?" "How can we
get there without ever crossing the track of the enemy?" All these are
elementary route problems, and they can be turned into good puzzles by
the introduction of some conditions that complicate matters. A variety
of such complications will be found in the following examples. I have
also included some enumerations of more or less difficulty. These afford
excellent practice for the reasoning faculties, and enable one to
generalize in the case of symmetrical forms in a manner that is most
instructive.