Chess board

No. XCVIII.—A KNIGHT’S TOUR

Here is another beautifully symmetrical Knight’s tour:—

Chess board

It starts from the corner square, and the second half of the course has dotted lines.

79. MISSING WORDS

He ...... himself much on his skill,
 In many a burglary tried;
 But when he ...... open the till
 There was only a ...... inside.

The missing words are spelt with the same six letters.

Solution

No. XCIX.—A KNIGHT’S TOUR

Here is quite a curious pattern described by another Knight’s tour:—

Chess board

80. AN ENIGMA

Three-fourths of me an act display,
 Three-fourths a bed for man;
 Three-fourths have legs that cannot stray,
 Three-fourths have legs that can.
 I have a back without a spine;
 An arm without a bone is mine.

Solution

81. A CHARADE

My first is the French for my second,
 My whole a narcotic is reckoned.

Solution

No. C.—A GOOD PATTERN

Here is a very symmetrical Knight’s tour, in which half of the moves are indicated by dotted, and half by unbroken lines:—

Chess board

82. PALINDROME WORDS

The letters of this sentence “Arrive to vote at it,” can be so recast as to form two palindrome words, or words that read alike from either end. What are they?

Solution

No. CI.—A KNIGHT’S TOUR

Here is another specimen of the Knight’s tour, which is beautifully symmetrical—

Chess board

Half of the course is marked with dotted lines.

83. AN ENIGMA

Sweet till I lose my head,
 Sweet-hearted then I show;
 Decapitate again, I spread,
 And cannot be below.
 Served so once more, I am not dead,
 But with fresh beauty glow.

Solution

No. CII.—A KNIGHT’S POETIC TOUR

On the board below a verse of eight lines runs on the course of a Knight’s move from square to square:—

sor to king good say luck loy eth
and moth a soon dis our to bad
place ry church his force is hat al
er queen him wight he to may truth
man his and and chess es knight op’s
a sneer the and un lawn of tates
cas that at less pawn no bish lant
eth faith tles hath the gal in love

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Can you disentangle the little poem?

Solution

84. TOMMY’S MONEY BOX

“Dad,” said little Tommy, “give me as much as I have in my purse, and I will put a shilling in my money-box.” This was done, and the process was repeated for three more days. How much had Tommy originally in his purse, which was now quite empty?

Solution

No. CIII.—THE MANX RABBITS

This is the way to draw three rabbits so that they have but three ears among them all:—

Rabbits

85. AN ENIGMA

Two articles of English make,
 And three from foreign source.
 All these together you must take
 Where dramas run their course.

Solution

No. CIV.—SCORING A CENTURY

On this table is shown in ten different ways how exactly 100 can be arrived at by the use of the nine digits, each appearing only once.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1   1   4   95 3⁄7 56   98   6   15   15  
3   45   53   4 16⁄28 34   1   2   2   36  
5   7   6     7     3⁄6 8   79   47  
8   9   8     1     27⁄54 9     8⁄4 98  
9   62   71     98     1     6⁄3 2  
26   38   29     2     3      
74             4      
            75      
100   100   100   100   100   100   100   100   100  
9 × 8 + 7 + 6 + 5 + 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 100.

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86. IF WE COULD CHOOSE

“If it were possible, I should choose,” said young Hopeful, “a life double as long.”

“Yes,” said old Sobersides, “and you might turn it to better account if it was also begun old.”

How did their actual words bear this out?

Solution

No. CV.—SEEING THROUGH A VEIL

On a piece of clear tracing paper draw with pen and ink a close network of lines, such as is shown in this diagram, near enough together to conceal type of ordinary size.

Screen

Place this on the page of a book, and challenge any one to read a sentence, or even a word, through it, saying that you can do so easily. How can you succeed?

Solution

87. A CHARADE

Lop head and tail, and you will find
 I have both tail and head.
 Or if for spirits you’ve a mind
 Set my tail first instead.
Life, as “a vapour full of woes,”
 With many a darker page,
 My whole in picture will disclose,
 For “all the world’s a stage!”

Solution

No. CVI.—THE PAPER RINGS

In the diagram a strip of paper is shown (1), with its ends simply gummed together; (2), with a single twist; and (3), with a double twist. Can you decide, without actual experiment, what will be the result in each case if these are cut completely round, as is indicated by the dotted lines?

Möbius strip

Solution

88. MISSING WORDS

A glowing ........ window, graced
 With ........ that true art has traced.

Solution

89. ANSWER BY ANAGRAM

How do the actual letters of these words in their union prove that anæsthetics are “blessed in pain?”

Solution

No. CVII.—THE MAGIC BUTTONS

Make two parallel cuts with a penknife along the centre of a slip of leather or other material, and below them a hole of the same width. Pass a piece of string under the slit, and through the hole, and tie two buttons, each much larger than the hole, to the ends of the string.

Strip with buttons

How can the string be released without removing either of the buttons?

Solution

No. CVIII.—THE CAPTIVE SCISSORS

Fasten a pair of scissors securely with a piece of string to some convenient article, as is shown in this diagram:—

Scissors

Can you release them without cutting or unfastening the string?

Solution

90. A BURIED QUOTATION

“What sin was it, sonny?” said an American negress to her lover, when she sat on his best hat, which was flattened. Wearily he heard her musical laugh, and arose to go. His hobby was botany, but not hers, for she was then a merry girl. “Bother the flowers! I would prefer this mellow pine-apple, Leonidas,” she said; “I guess we Ethiopians just love fruit!”

Solution

No. CIX.—A PRIMITIVE TRAP

This diagram represents in the simplest outline a primitive wolf-trap.

Trap

The dotted line is a gate opening into a circular enclosure. How was the trap set and the wolf caught?

Solution

91. LADIES AT A SALE

They .... the dress with grip so keen
 That half the .... gives way;
 And home return with purses lean
 To .... of “bargain-day!”

What are the missing words?

Solution

No. CX.—A SPINNING NEEDLE

To balance a needle on the head of a pin, push the pin into the cork of a wine bottle, and the needle into a separate cork.

Bottle and forks

With the aid of three forks, as is shown in the picture, the needle may be balanced and spun round on the head of the pin.

92. MISSING WORDS

Air—“Three fishers went sailing.”

Three ...... went sailing out into the west,
 Out into the west as the sun sank low;
 Each thought as they ...... of the lad she loved best,
 For they all had ......, and each had a beau.
 But seas will rise, and spirits will sink,
 And they all were too ill of ...... to think,
 So these ...... ...... back moaning.

Each missing word has the same six letters.

Solution

No. CXI.—AFTER DINNER

This diagram shows how, as an after-dinner trick, four similar wineglasses can be placed on the table

Glasses

so that the centres of the lowest parts of their stems are equidistant from each other.

93. A CHARADE

Lurking in riddles oft my first is found;
 My second should in ample stores abound,
 Or help to make the sweetest songster heard.
 Peculiar, and quite proper, is my third.
 My whole has found with England’s monarch grace,
 The verdant home of many a goodly race.

Solution

No. CXII.—SECOND SIGHT

Ask any one, with this diagram to work upon, to think of any number between 5 and 15, and, while your back is turned, to count up to it, beginning at the lowest step, and saying one, two, three, four, and so on, as each step of cards or single card is reached in the direction indicated by the arrow. When the number thought of has been thus arrived at, tell him to stop, and beginning afresh on that card, to count one, two, three, etc., backwards, this time skipping over the double six and the 3 steps until he again reaches the number thought of, and notices which card he has touched last.

Dominoes

How can you, without having seen any of his movements, at once find that card?

Solution

No. CXIII.—AN AFTER DINNER TRICK

Cut a wedge out of an apple, as is indicated in the diagram, and make six gashes as is shown.

Wedged apple

When this has been done, challenge anyone to divide the apple into six pieces by only two straight cuts, so that there shall be one of the gashes in each piece.

Solution

94. ALIKE TO THE EYE

Accent my head,
 An opening I appear
 In other fashions said
 I charm all far and near.

Solution

No. CXIV.—A TOY BOOMERANG

Cut out in cardboard a boomerang as nearly as possible of the size and pattern given here:—

Boomerang

Place it flat on the back of the first three fingers of the left hand, sloping them upward; then flick it smartly with the second finger of the right hand. It will fly off and return to your lap. Try it.

95. LONDON BY ANAGRAM

Here are two simple sentences:—

A lamp shines out for thee.
Win me best by tears.

Can you recast the letters, so that they form the names of two of the most important buildings in London?

Solution

96. HEARD ON THE BRIGHTON BEACH

It was low tide; two children were throwing pebbles into the sea, and sending their excited collie in pursuit of them. The Puzzle Editor, who was on holiday, quickened perhaps by the salt air, bethought him of this appropriate riddle:—What is the difference between that dog and a hungry man?

Solution

No. CXV.—IN THE GRIP OF A RADISH

Cut a radish in half, press the lower surface firmly against a plate, as is shown in the diagram:—

Radish on plate

and you can lift the plate, to which it clings as closely as a boy’s wet leather disc to the pavement.

97. FIND THE ANIMAL

A part of me in rain,
 A part in hail must be,
 A part belongs to pain,
 A part in bones we see,
 A part in gleaming gold,
 A part in common copper.
 A part in peace behold,
 A part in any topper;
 Two parts are heard in sound,
 And in our finals found.

Solution

No. CXVI.—ELASTIC PAPER

The countryman who cut one hole in his door for the cat and another for the kitten would find it difficult to pass a penny through a hole the size of a shilling cut in a stout piece of paper.

This diagram shows how easily it can be done:—

Hole

Fold the paper across the centre of the hole, place the penny in the fold, and bend the lower corners of the paper upwards. This elongates the opening, and the coin falls through.

98. A SMART ENIGMA

Men commonly say I am clever,
 Book-learning I never could boast;
 Yet I turn the leaves inside the cover,
 And when I am found I am lost.

Solution

99. MISSING WORDS

. ... is like a ..... or what is most
 Comparative, a ..... is like a . ...;
 For when their substances in liquor sink
 Both properly are said to be in drink.

One of the letters of the two short words is used twice in the longer word.

Solution

No. CXVII.—THE NIMBLE SIXPENCE

Place a sixpence on the tablecloth, and over it set a tumbler, as is shown in the picture below.

Glass

How can you pocket the sixpence without removing the glass, or having it removed?

Solution

100. A PIED PROVERB

abdeefiinnnoopprrrsssttuw

Solution

101. SELF-DEFINED

A wordy warfare waged with wit,
 In youth its joys none need descry;
 But where our elders take to it
 Its name points loss of dignity.

Solution

No. CXVIII.—HOW TO DRAW A SPIRAL

How can you draw such a spiral as this with very simple appliances?

Spiral

This spiral is drawn rapidly without removing the pencil from the paper.

Solution

102. FIND THE HERO

My first’s in garb, but not in dress;
 My next’s in praise, but not in bliss;
 My third’s in man, but not in miss;
 My fourth’s in we.
My fifth’s in boar, but not in hog;
 My sixth’s in cat, but not in dog;
 My next’s in calm, but not in fog;
 My eighth’s in we.
My ninth’s in rope, but not in twine;
 My tenth’s in light, but not in shine;
 My next’s in four, but not in nine;
 My twelfth’s in we.

Solution

No. CXIX.—FOR HANDY FINGERS

Take a piece of stout paper or thin cardboard, about 10 in. by 8 in., and cut it as is shown below, removing the parts that are shaded in the diagram.

Madonna

If you hold this between a plain wall, or other surface, and a strong light, you will, with a little practice, be able to cast a shadow similar to one or other of these Madonna heads, which will vary in intensity and expression with the positions of the paper and the light.

No. CXX.—THE FOUR KINGS

This excellent and easy little card trick will commend itself for fireside use in the long evenings.

Take the four Kings from a pack, and two other cards. Hold the Kings thus, in the form of a fan—

Cards

hiding the two other cards behind the King of Diamonds.

After showing them, place the six cards at the bottom of the pack. Now move the lowest card to the top, and the two next cards to any part of the pack, apparently leaving but one King at the bottom. Ask some one to cut the pack, and all the Kings will be found together. Some appropriate patter will help the effect.

103. PROVERB BY ANAGRAM

Can you recast this sentence—

A defeat whose test is very sure—

so that the same letters form an appropriate proverb?

Solution

No. CXXI.—DOMINO SQUARE

Its cells add up in columns and rows to 22, and those of the corner squares add up to 10 and 12 respectively.

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104. PHONETIC MISSING WORDS