Chapter 26

Magic cross

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.

Solution

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.”

Sad face

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!

Solution

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.”

With eight large wooden matches form a miniature raft, as is shown in thediagram:—

Raft

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.

It is very remarkable that the letters which form thesentence—

“The Jubilee Day of Victoria, Queen and Empress,” also exactlyspell—

Joys are never quite complete if a husband die.

Much is bad, and much is sad,And life has many woes.

Puzzle

May we keep clear from year to yearOf what this picture shows!

Can you interpret it?

Solution

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 intoI clog!

Here are two good anagrams connected with the land of thePharaohs:—

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 bedark men, according to the anagram of “Denmark.”

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.

Patchwork

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.

The wounded and sick soldiers whom Florence Nightingale nursed so tenderly in the Crimea would have acclaimed her beautiful anagram—“Flit on, cheering angel!”

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.

Moons

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.”

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.

Drummer

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.

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 ananagram:—

“The Oxford and Cambridge annual boat-race.”

Much extra load on board can bring a defeat.

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.

Face

Solution

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 descriptiveanagrams:—

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!”

A soldier, a dog, and a door can be thus drawn by only three strokes of apen:—

Sketch

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.

Why is this “Joker” like a poor joke?

Inane joker

Because he isin an E(inane).

Here are three ingenious instances of what may be called answers byanagram:—

What is the protector of “wealth?”

The law.

Where would a “cart-horse” be unhandy?

In anorchestra.

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 quaintstyle:—

“How well her name an army doth present,In whom the Lord of Hosts doth pitch His tent!”

Here is quite a simple method of arranging nine matches so that they represent three squares.

Matches

The figure also includes at its sides two equilateral triangles.

Victoria the First, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, and Empress of India. These letters also spellexactly:—

Fit for a bard I claim inspiréd strain:—The sad and even tenor of a quiet reign.

Here are two very perfectspecimens:—

Earl Beaconsfield.An able force is led,or,A free lance is bold.

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.

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.

Solution

A sa Majesté impériale le Tsar Nicolas, souverain et autocrat de toutes les Russies.

The same letters exactlyspell—

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 Cambridgecrews:—

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?

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 thisdiagram:—

Tangram

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 runsthus:—

Charles Dickens: Oliver Twist.“Now C. D. strikes till vice hears.”

Confessions of an Opium-Eater

The same letters recastspell—

If so man, refuse poison at once!

Can you, without measuring, say which two of these posts are farthest apart?

Posts

“Oyama is Field-Marshal.”Fame aid his loyal arms!

“North Sea outrage.”A ghost near route!

Madame Rachel.Deal me a charm.A. Tennyson.Any sonnet.

“Notes and Queries”A question sender.Enquires on dates.Reasoned inquest.I send on a request.

Place the two parts of a common wooden match-box, empty, and in good condition, in the position shown below.

Matchbox

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.”

The driver of a London ’bus the other day broke out into florid language as he nearly collided with a brand new motor omnibus.

Matchbox

One of the travesties of “motor-’bus” which he hurled at his rival is depicted in this diagram. What was it?

Solution

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 italicsin—

One lovelyMay morn itchanced that I setMy all on a new speculation;But the venturesome step I can never regret,For my prize has surpassed expectation,

find inMatrimonytheir anagram, which is also the solution of the lines.

A GOOD OLD PUZZLE

These dogs are dead, we all should say;Give them four strokes, they run away!

Dogs

This is solvedthus:—

Each corresponding sentence is a perfect anagram.

Earl of Beaconsfieldis 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!

(Nigroque simillima cygno.)

Here is quite a good “shadowgraph.”

Swan

With a strong light and a little practice, any one may easily produce this effect with the shadow thrown by arms and hands.

What is Russia?—Russiais ursa(a bear).

What did a Prime Minister say of theSaturday Review?

Thatit was a very rudeperiodical.

What appropriate advice might be given by anagram to those who support the “Shakespeare-Bacon” controversy?

Soak cheaper beans.

Here is a particularly charming dominopuzzle:—

Dominoes

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?

Solution

The answer by anagram to—What helps to make “bakers fat?” isBreakfast.

Here is an amusing method of turning wax matches to quaintaccount:—

Gallows

If the wax is slightly melted, and perhaps shredded for some effects, all sorts of fanciful figures can be thus contrived.

What does an editor say to each “ream of paper?”Appear for me.

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 variedorder:—

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 asfollows:—

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!

The good oldRebus—

Parrots

may stand for theproverb—

“Honesty is the best policy.” (On ST is the best poll I see!)

Can you find eight animals that are concealed in this wood?

Animals

Solution

If we may go by its anagram thegardenianeeds careful “drainage.”

What is the “soldiers’” anagram?Lo I dress.What motto befits “Christianity?”I cry that I sin.

What is the “soldiers’” anagram?Lo I dress.

What motto befits “Christianity?”I cry that I sin.

Here is a good old sample of an effect produced by supple fingers in a strong light on thewall:—

Shadowgraph

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!” wasdetermination, which contains exactly the same letters.

Those who, according to their anagram, are best equipped for a “sea trip” arePirates.

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 vividdescription:—

While many greet the friends they meet,I know no face, I press no hand.Though busy feet may throng the street,Isit alone, sirs, in the land.

“Solitariness.”

Can you interpret this word-picture?

Rebus

It represents the name of a famous man.

Solution

Should you wish to go by rail,Hasten to the station;“Train on time” can never failTo reach its destination.If you need a further clueKeep your journey’s end in view.

Termination.

We may expect to find “Anarchists” involvedin rash actsaccording to their anagram.

When his patient has recovered, a “surgeon,” can say by anagramgo nurse!

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.

Here is a picturesque head, which in a strong light can be thrown upon the wall by anyone who is handy with his fingers.

Shadow

The peaked cap seems to suggest a French soldier.

What manner of men has “Eton” produced?

Men oftoneandnote.

What worries the “postman?”

No stamp.

What are to be seen at “Epsom Races?”

Some pacers.

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.

Eggs

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.

What did “Henry Wadsworth Longfellow” do for America?

HeWon half the New World’s glory.

What was the happy result of patriotic “sentiment” in our colonies during the Boer war?

It sent men.

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.

Straws

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.

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 ofmen in rank.

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.

The clue by anagram to those in search of “hidden treasure” who sought to discover a dish-cover isdish under a tree.

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 diagrambelow:—

Board

How did he contrive to cut a square from this of the necessary size?

Solution

The answer by anagram to “What should we all welcome, if the Chancellor of the Exchequer could ‘introduce’ it into his Budget?” isreduction.

Things that we know to be “transient” must be looked at, according to their anagram,instanter.

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.”

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.

Matches

Re-arrange three of these matches and form four squares.

Solution

The enigmaanagram—

They were orthodox as beadles,But in business tricks and wheedlesThey were “sharp I see” as needles—

is solved byPharisees.

The question—Where did we buy “our fancy mat?”—is answered by anagram at themanufactory.

Construct this figure with fivematches:—

Matches

Remove three of the matches, and then replace two of them so as to form a similar figure.

Solution

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 forGreat Britain.

If heartily administered,nine thumps, the anagram of “punishment,” would fall deservedly upon the shoulders of a wife-beater.

Our strongest “armaments” aremen-at-arms.

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?

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