My second is double my first,
My first is but half of my second;
And I’m sure you’ll admit that my whole
Is ten times the latter when reckon’d.
My first is but half of my second;
And I’m sure you’ll admit that my whole
Is ten times the latter when reckon’d.
298
My first I went the other day,
And pretty surely reckon’d
A basket of fine fish to catch,
With hook and rod and second.
And pretty surely reckon’d
A basket of fine fish to catch,
With hook and rod and second.
But I was out in reckoning;
A very pretty she
Of her fair face show’d just my whole—
And pretty soon hook’d me.
A very pretty she
Of her fair face show’d just my whole—
And pretty soon hook’d me.
299
Of mirth the parent, though the child of art,
A stranger to myself in every part;
Each India has a native in my breast,
The West my sweetness, and my fire the East.
While milder climes my virtue to complete,
Quicken my softness, and correct my heat;
My dearest friends upon my vitals prey,
And as they see me sinking, grow more gay.
A stranger to myself in every part;
Each India has a native in my breast,
The West my sweetness, and my fire the East.
While milder climes my virtue to complete,
Quicken my softness, and correct my heat;
My dearest friends upon my vitals prey,
And as they see me sinking, grow more gay.
300. A FLIGHT OF FANCY
When my whole takes a flight in the air you will find
That my next is not left a great distance behind;
But join them together, and plain to your view
It all is as firm and as tight as a screw.
That my next is not left a great distance behind;
But join them together, and plain to your view
It all is as firm and as tight as a screw.
301
To three-fourths of a cross, add a circle complete;
Then, let two semi-circles a perpendicular meet;
Next, add a triangle that stands on two feet;
Then, two semi-circles, and a circle complete.
Then, let two semi-circles a perpendicular meet;
Next, add a triangle that stands on two feet;
Then, two semi-circles, and a circle complete.
302. A CHARADE
Leader of Vandals and of vice
My head is reckoned;
A Turkish captain will suffice
To be my second.
My third is firm if well selected;
My whole a wanderer neglected.
My head is reckoned;
A Turkish captain will suffice
To be my second.
My third is firm if well selected;
My whole a wanderer neglected.
303
One thousand, two hundred,
Nothing, and one,
Transposed, give a word
Expressive of fun.
Nothing, and one,
Transposed, give a word
Expressive of fun.
304. A CHARADE
By Praed
My first was creeping on his way
Through the mists of a dull October day,
When a minstrel came to its muddy bed,
With a harp on his shoulder, a wreath on his head;
“And how shall I reach,” the poor boy cried,
“To the courts and the cloisters on t’other side?”
Through the mists of a dull October day,
When a minstrel came to its muddy bed,
With a harp on his shoulder, a wreath on his head;
“And how shall I reach,” the poor boy cried,
“To the courts and the cloisters on t’other side?”
Old Euclid came, and he frown’d a frown,
And he dash’d the harp and the garland down;
Then he led the bard, with a stately march,
O’er my second’s long and cellar’d arch;—
“And see,” said the sage, “how every ass
Over the sacred stream must pass!”
And he dash’d the harp and the garland down;
Then he led the bard, with a stately march,
O’er my second’s long and cellar’d arch;—
“And see,” said the sage, “how every ass
Over the sacred stream must pass!”
The youth was mournful, the youth was mute,
He sigh’d for his laurel, he sobb’d for his lute;—
The youth took comfort, the youth took snuff,
And follow’d the lead of that teacher gruff;
And he sits, ever since, in my whole’s kind lap,
In a silken gown and a trencher cap.
He sigh’d for his laurel, he sobb’d for his lute;—
The youth took comfort, the youth took snuff,
And follow’d the lead of that teacher gruff;
And he sits, ever since, in my whole’s kind lap,
In a silken gown and a trencher cap.
305
Upright and honest is my first;
My second you may see
Upon the frozen lake or stream;
My whole is equity.
My second you may see
Upon the frozen lake or stream;
My whole is equity.
306
Never wearied, see us stand,
A glittering and a stately band—
Of sturdy stuff, but graceful form,
In summer cold, in winter warm;
From hottest duty never swerving,
Night and day our place preserving;
Each serving to a different use,
Not to be changed without abuse.
And, pray, mark well another fact—
In unison we never act,
Except, as on occasion dread,
We watch the ashes of the dead;
When we are ranged, as you may see
As awful sentries, one, two, three.
A glittering and a stately band—
Of sturdy stuff, but graceful form,
In summer cold, in winter warm;
From hottest duty never swerving,
Night and day our place preserving;
Each serving to a different use,
Not to be changed without abuse.
And, pray, mark well another fact—
In unison we never act,
Except, as on occasion dread,
We watch the ashes of the dead;
When we are ranged, as you may see
As awful sentries, one, two, three.
307. A CHARADE
My first, though naught, with others is a fruit,
My next is vital to both man and brute.
It should be dear to all who hate the devil,
For it is ever the reverse of evil.
My all, when whole, is eloquent of peace,
Divided it invokes to life that will not cease.
My next is vital to both man and brute.
It should be dear to all who hate the devil,
For it is ever the reverse of evil.
My all, when whole, is eloquent of peace,
Divided it invokes to life that will not cease.
308. A CHARADE
In English Sapphics
Guess at my first, ’tis easy to discover,
Covered with rings, and whiskered like a dandy.
Wrapped up in furs, ’tis often on the housetop,
Oft in the chimney!
Covered with rings, and whiskered like a dandy.
Wrapped up in furs, ’tis often on the housetop,
Oft in the chimney!
See where my second, scorning to be hidden,
Stands at the head of quite a band of others,
Like a virago, straddling with feet apart,
And arms akimbo.
Stands at the head of quite a band of others,
Like a virago, straddling with feet apart,
And arms akimbo.
Surely my next is happy in its office,
Parting the lovelocks on Neæra’s forehead;
Setting the golden lines wherewith she angles
For the unwary.
Parting the lovelocks on Neæra’s forehead;
Setting the golden lines wherewith she angles
For the unwary.
If by my whole at any time you pass, you
Tread on the dust of holy saints and martyrs,
Holy the place, may holy thoughts attend you,
Peacefully dreaming!
Tread on the dust of holy saints and martyrs,
Holy the place, may holy thoughts attend you,
Peacefully dreaming!
309
Offspring of nature and of art, I stand
Chief ’midst the monuments of every land;
I may not lengthen life, but I
For centuries forbid to die.
The greatest truth in me you meet
Is but deception most complete.
Unchanged I last the changing crowds among,
And as I older grow, I grow too young.
Chief ’midst the monuments of every land;
I may not lengthen life, but I
For centuries forbid to die.
The greatest truth in me you meet
Is but deception most complete.
Unchanged I last the changing crowds among,
And as I older grow, I grow too young.
310
Pronounced as one letter, and written with three,
Two letters there are, and two only in me;
I’m double, I’m single, I’m black, blue, and gray,
I’m read from both ends, and the same either way.
Two letters there are, and two only in me;
I’m double, I’m single, I’m black, blue, and gray,
I’m read from both ends, and the same either way.
311
My first is false as false can be;
My next old ladies wear;
My whole’s my first, as you will see,
As false, I do declare.
My next old ladies wear;
My whole’s my first, as you will see,
As false, I do declare.
312. SHUFFLED LETTERS
When whole I am indeed a thing
To puzzle you a bit;
Though parts of me are hard, at Bridge
The others make a hit;
Or you may make a car of some,
And fix a head to it.
To puzzle you a bit;
Though parts of me are hard, at Bridge
The others make a hit;
Or you may make a car of some,
And fix a head to it.
313. FIVE VOWELS
A word of nine letters explains
How to mitigate bodily pains;
The five vowels are there,
And four consonants share
This function for medical brains.
How to mitigate bodily pains;
The five vowels are there,
And four consonants share
This function for medical brains.
314. A CHARADE
My second guides my first and third
For pleasure, trade, and war;
My first and second by my third
Are oft transported far.
But when my first my third doth pull,
’Tis then his lot is worst;
And should my second lack my whole,
He’s apt to leave my first.
For pleasure, trade, and war;
My first and second by my third
Are oft transported far.
But when my first my third doth pull,
’Tis then his lot is worst;
And should my second lack my whole,
He’s apt to leave my first.
315. MISSING WORDS
It is a ...... fact that neither ...... nor ...... grow .. .....
316. THE BONES OF A PALINDROME
DRWNDRRDNWRD.
Insert the missing letters, and so form a perfect palindrome, which reads alike from either end.
317
The schoolboy likes me well,
For healthful sport I bring,
Yet I can harm create,
Though such a little thing:
Connubial bliss is form’d by me;
My nature is equality.
For healthful sport I bring,
Yet I can harm create,
Though such a little thing:
Connubial bliss is form’d by me;
My nature is equality.
318. A RIDDLE
What person’s name is doubly evil?
The answer may be given in a line that rhymes.
319
I’m a district near London;
If made wrong, I come undone;
O’er sweet strings I swift run,
Or appear with the bright sun,
And though by me fights were won,
I can greet you every one.
If made wrong, I come undone;
O’er sweet strings I swift run,
Or appear with the bright sun,
And though by me fights were won,
I can greet you every one.
320. A CHARADE
I am my first when seen with you,
My next is always bad.
A rogue in grain much harm may do
And make the farmer mad.
My next is always bad.
A rogue in grain much harm may do
And make the farmer mad.
321. A CHARADE
When winter comes with frost and cold,
My first is welcome, as of old;
And though its grip may make you thinner,
It helps to cook your Christmas dinner.
My first is welcome, as of old;
And though its grip may make you thinner,
It helps to cook your Christmas dinner.
Let me but hear my next rejoice
At early dawn with cheerful voice,
I haste to find, with eager pleasure,
Some specimen of hidden treasure.
At early dawn with cheerful voice,
I haste to find, with eager pleasure,
Some specimen of hidden treasure.
A traveller my whole may find
Far from his English kith and kind;
Though some at home, to England’s shame,
Are this in fact, if not in name.
Far from his English kith and kind;
Though some at home, to England’s shame,
Are this in fact, if not in name.
322.
It was to-morrow, and
It will be yesterday;
Now it is near at hand
What is it? Who can say?
It will be yesterday;
Now it is near at hand
What is it? Who can say?
323. A CHARADE
My first doth fill with light his father’s eyes,
The second shadows all the mother’s brow;
My whole all men, all women, girls and boys,
Have had, and long to lose, and lost for ever now;
But know not, nor can know, when it was lost, and how.
The second shadows all the mother’s brow;
My whole all men, all women, girls and boys,
Have had, and long to lose, and lost for ever now;
But know not, nor can know, when it was lost, and how.
324. ON THE BLOCK
Complete, though not of human race,
A soul in me may dwell;
Behead, I held a higher place,
Until, like man, I fell.
A soul in me may dwell;
Behead, I held a higher place,
Until, like man, I fell.
Again behead, and in the song
Of Burns I’m all your own;
Behead once more, it would be wrong
To find me out when known.
Of Burns I’m all your own;
Behead once more, it would be wrong
To find me out when known.
325. AN ENIGMA
With head good for naught,
And with tail always drunk,
You know well what to say
Of the worth of my trunk.
First cut off my tail,
I am Greek, and I’m not;
Then cut off my head,
And some Latin you’ve got.
Lopping both you know best
What remains, as I said,
For I really am you
If I lose tail and head!
And with tail always drunk,
You know well what to say
Of the worth of my trunk.
First cut off my tail,
I am Greek, and I’m not;
Then cut off my head,
And some Latin you’ve got.
Lopping both you know best
What remains, as I said,
For I really am you
If I lose tail and head!
326. AN ENIGMA
One guiding eye I need
In running through the gaps;
My tail, as on I speed,
Is caught in many traps.
In running through the gaps;
My tail, as on I speed,
Is caught in many traps.
327. A CHESS CHARADE
By H. J. C. Andrews
In the ’seventies no one was more popular at Simpson’s Chess Room in the Strand than the gentle and brilliant subject of these lines, a clever water-colourist. The charade is by his friend, the well-known problem composer. Both have passed away, but they are not forgotten by those who had the happiness to know them:—
Of all the birds that ever sought a mate,
My first is to but one appropriate,
So speak the word! nor silence shyly woo.
To find my next, go! wander in the Zoo!
My whole is a magician of the squares,
But Art, with Chess, his best affections shares,
So this, indeed, to him may be a law
When winning’s hopeless, grandly still to draw.
My first is to but one appropriate,
So speak the word! nor silence shyly woo.
To find my next, go! wander in the Zoo!
My whole is a magician of the squares,
But Art, with Chess, his best affections shares,
So this, indeed, to him may be a law
When winning’s hopeless, grandly still to draw.
328. WHAT AM I?
Though poor and humble was my birth
I sit enthroned on high;
My footsteps far above the earth,
My canopy the sky.
I sit enthroned on high;
My footsteps far above the earth,
My canopy the sky.
O’er toiling subjects thus in state
I bear despotic sway;
Yet on them hand and foot I wait
At break and close of day.
I bear despotic sway;
Yet on them hand and foot I wait
At break and close of day.
329.
I am not of flesh and blood,
Yet have I many a bone;
No limbs, except one leg,
And can’t stand on that alone.
Yet have I many a bone;
No limbs, except one leg,
And can’t stand on that alone.
My friends are many, and dwell
In all lands of the human race;
But they poke my poor nose into the mud,
And shamefully spatter my face.
In all lands of the human race;
But they poke my poor nose into the mud,
And shamefully spatter my face.
Thrust me into each other’s ribs,
Stick me in gutter and rut;
I have never a window, and never a door,
Yet I often open and shut.
Stick me in gutter and rut;
I have never a window, and never a door,
Yet I often open and shut.
330. AN ENIGMA
Before the crown descended on
The head of England’s Queen,
Four Kings upon that royal throne
Of the same name had been.
Now if the signs which marked their name
Be joined unto a beast,
We have a food on which the same
(A quadruped) will feast.
The head of England’s Queen,
Four Kings upon that royal throne
Of the same name had been.
Now if the signs which marked their name
Be joined unto a beast,
We have a food on which the same
(A quadruped) will feast.
331. AN OLD ENIGMA
By Charles James Fox
I am pretty, and useful in various ways,
Though I tempt some poor mortals to shorten their days;
Behead me, and then in my place will appear
What youngsters admire every day in the year;
Behead me once more, and without any doubt,
You must be what is left if you don’t find it out.
Though I tempt some poor mortals to shorten their days;
Behead me, and then in my place will appear
What youngsters admire every day in the year;
Behead me once more, and without any doubt,
You must be what is left if you don’t find it out.
332. A CHARADE
My first, when skilfully performed
(Its doer by applauses warmed),
Bespeaks both skill and vigour.
When with my whole, so soft and light,
I saw my second gay bedight,
She made a splendid figure.
(Its doer by applauses warmed),
Bespeaks both skill and vigour.
When with my whole, so soft and light,
I saw my second gay bedight,
She made a splendid figure.
333. MISSING WORDS
The man who ..... the common
.....
Above the ..... chaste,
..... as he may, the world declares
Is not a man of taste.
And though my sympathy he shares,
No ..... on him I waste!
Above the ..... chaste,
..... as he may, the world declares
Is not a man of taste.
And though my sympathy he shares,
No ..... on him I waste!
334. A CHARADE
When a monk in old times, unexpectedly heated,
Endangered the peace of his soul,
To atone for my second my first he repeated
Quite ten times a day on my whole.
Endangered the peace of his soul,
To atone for my second my first he repeated
Quite ten times a day on my whole.
335. AN ENIGMA
An insect small and fell
Makes a weird sound,
If, as its name you spell,
You turn it round.
Makes a weird sound,
If, as its name you spell,
You turn it round.
One letter cast, and still
Shift what remains,
Another insect will
Reward your pains.
Shift what remains,
Another insect will
Reward your pains.
336. A DECAPITATION
Where head and body duly meet
I am as slender as a bee;
Whether I stand on head or feet
My figure shows its symmetry.
I am as slender as a bee;
Whether I stand on head or feet
My figure shows its symmetry.
But when my head is cut away
The metamorphosis is strange;
Though both of them unaltered stay,
Body and head to nothing change.
The metamorphosis is strange;
Though both of them unaltered stay,
Body and head to nothing change.
337. A NUT TO CRACK
First is in coast, second in ghost,
Third must be reckoned part of second;
Fourth in boat, fifth in float,
Sixth you will find within your mind.
Seventh in blue, eighth in true,
These letters tell a fruit that they spell.
Third must be reckoned part of second;
Fourth in boat, fifth in float,
Sixth you will find within your mind.
Seventh in blue, eighth in true,
These letters tell a fruit that they spell.
338.
The hunter and his steed are known
My first to see.
Though men may call my next a stone,
Wood it may be.
My whole, an exile from his home,
Is doomed from place to place to roam.
My first to see.
Though men may call my next a stone,
Wood it may be.
My whole, an exile from his home,
Is doomed from place to place to roam.
339. A CHARADE
My first expresses power to do,
My next that it is done.
To be my whole belongs to few,
And perfectly to none.
My next that it is done.
To be my whole belongs to few,
And perfectly to none.
340. A CHARADE
In my first, as in a shell,
All the sweetest sounds may dwell;
In my second, shells abound
That can catch no sort of sound;
In my whole securely rest
Those who neither jeer nor jest.
All the sweetest sounds may dwell;
In my second, shells abound
That can catch no sort of sound;
In my whole securely rest
Those who neither jeer nor jest.
341. A CHARADE
My first, though of the feathered kind
Is never known to fly;
My next all who improve their mind
Seize as it passes by.
My whole may much occasion find
To make the truthful lie.
Is never known to fly;
My next all who improve their mind
Seize as it passes by.
My whole may much occasion find
To make the truthful lie.
342. AN ENIGMA
Divide a piece of beef or pork
Without the aid of knife and fork;
It gives a shelf, rejoined with skill,
Where you may set this if you will.
Strike off instead the end, its place
Is plain as nose upon your face.
Cut this asunder in your mind,
And what is first put now behind;
Part of our foot you thus discover,
And in a measure all is over.
Without the aid of knife and fork;
It gives a shelf, rejoined with skill,
Where you may set this if you will.
Strike off instead the end, its place
Is plain as nose upon your face.
Cut this asunder in your mind,
And what is first put now behind;
Part of our foot you thus discover,
And in a measure all is over.
343. A CHARADE
Seen as a whole, my form is now
Akin to strife and malice;
Split, it may grace a princely brow,
Or crown the curls of Alice.
Akin to strife and malice;
Split, it may grace a princely brow,
Or crown the curls of Alice.
Recast my letters, and I tell
That nourishment is lacking;
Stir them afresh until they spell
The needle’s help in tacking.
That nourishment is lacking;
Stir them afresh until they spell
The needle’s help in tacking.
344. AN ENIGMA
If I write with my first in my second
My whole you can never find out;
Add a letter, and all will be reckoned
A patron of water devout.
My whole you can never find out;
Add a letter, and all will be reckoned
A patron of water devout.
345. WHAT DID THE COLONEL SAY?
After officers’ mess, when cigars were well alight, the old conundrum was propounded, “What is most like a cornet of horse?” A sharp sub. was ready with the reply, “A hornet, of course”; it was presently capped by this variant which occurred to a married captain, “a corset of horn”; and yet another reading was suggested by the deaf old colonel, “How much did you say the ..............” Can you complete this?
346. WHERE WAS IT?
Loss of love between us
Never can be nice;
Yet we live where Venus
Changes us to ice.
Never can be nice;
Yet we live where Venus
Changes us to ice.
347. A LOVER TO HIS LASS
Tell me, my sweet,
Why are your feet
Like fairy tales?
Why are your feet
Like fairy tales?
348. MISSING WORDS
Our parson ....... every man who has leisure
To study ....... windows, the glory of fanes;
And ....... of devoting his income to pleasure,
Our ....... old dean spends his money on panes.
To study ....... windows, the glory of fanes;
And ....... of devoting his income to pleasure,
Our ....... old dean spends his money on panes.
349. AN EASY ONE
Though much attached to merriment,
Or crime for a variety,
To prison I am never sent,
But sparkle in society.
Or crime for a variety,
To prison I am never sent,
But sparkle in society.
350. A CHARADE
Without my first and second’s aid
No pudding worth its sauce is made.
Take on my third, my fourth I am,
My fifth includes myself and Sam.
My whole describes the royal fiddler Nero,
And shows him as an unheroic hero.
No pudding worth its sauce is made.
Take on my third, my fourth I am,
My fifth includes myself and Sam.
My whole describes the royal fiddler Nero,
And shows him as an unheroic hero.
351. BURIED PLACES
What geographical names are buried in these lines?
He has my R. N. as a monogram
I am her stupid sister.
The calmest man is sometimes made irate.