Chapter 11 of 15 · 3974 words · ~20 min read

Part 11

Lewis Carroll turns WHEAT into BREAD, changing one letter each time, and preserving their general order throughout, thus--

WHEAT; cheat; cheap; cheep; creep; creed; breed; BREAD.

_Unity_ is a probable solution of the old enigma, part of which evidently refers to “a house divided against itself”--

I’m one among a numerous host, And very useful in my post; There’s not a house in all the land Without me properly can stand. Though men disputed long ago Whether I did exist or no, Once more some thousands have been slain Because they could not me attain.

The anagram proverbs, “These grave lips chatter no ill,” and “Elephants, all to richest giver,” are both founded on _Little pitchers have long ears_, and spelt with exactly the same letters.

The charade--

My first of rudeness has a sound; The rest is in a city found; My whole to win its way is bound.

is solved by _Pertinacity_.

The buried potentate in the lines--

My first is in cake, but not in bun; My second in light, but not in sun; My third is in night, but not in day; My fourth is in game, but not in play; My fifth is in head, but not in tail; My sixth is in wind, but not in sail; My seventh in wrong, but not in right; My eighth is in battle, but not in fight; My ninth is in sword, but not in knife, My tenth is in lady, but not in wife; My whole is a monarch at war with strife.

is _King Edward_.

The charade--

My first except when it is old Is never seen or heard; When it is heard the sound is tolled Out of a Jewish beard. My next was in imperial Rome, It was her power and might; Then you had but to write _you wish_, And straightway ’twas in sight.

My whole was Frank Of royal rank.

is solved by _Clovis_ (_vis_ in Latin is both _power_ and _you wish_).

How great in olden days my power, Oft have I saved a castle tower From war’s invading tide. Transpose me, and how great my fall! I am then the smallest of the small, That nothing can divide.

is solved by _Moat_--_atom_.

The puzzle--

This compact Enigma take, All apart its letters shake. Let your 6, 3, 5 be high, Like 5, 1, 2 do or die. Who 4, 6, 5, 1 enjoys More than 5, 6, 2 by boys? While 5, 3, 2, 1 are mine, May 4, 6, 3, 2 be thine. 4, 1, 5 is rich and rare, 6, 5, 1, 2 ends my prayer.

is solved by the word Enigma, from which are formed, as is indicated, the words _aim_, _men_, _game_, _man_, _mine_, _gain_, _gem_, and _amen_.

The enigma--

“Charles the First walked and talked, Half an hour after his head was cut off.” _Old Couplet_.

Cut off my head, I’m every inch a King, A warrior formed to deal a heavy blow. Halve what remains, my second is a thing Which nothing but my third can e’er make go, My third will vary as you take your line, This less than human, that way all divine!

is solved by _Dog_ (Og, go, dog, God).

The logograph--

Touch me not, I’m firm and sure; Behead, I’m used by rich and poor; In house and cottage, hut and hall, I stand of service to them all. Behead again, in time of need I tell that strength and skill succeed.

is solved by _Stable_, _table_, _able_.

The names that satisfy the conditions of this Single Acrostic--

What river is that, where it is found, Which Pope says does with eels abound? What Scottish lake, by high hills bounded, Is with bright birch and oak surrounded? What stream is said in Devon to run Into the sea near Otterton? What bay on Cuba’s distant coast Is justly deemed its pride and boast? The initials of these names will show A Scotch reformer, who, we know, Flourished three hundred years ago.

are _Kennet_, _Ness_, _Otter_, _Xagua_, which give _Knox_.

The charade--

My whole may be a mother, not a dad, So former may, or latter; But twist my tail, and I become as mad As any hatter!

Behead me, and behold I am a man, Who never was called mister; Cut off my tail, and instantly I can Become a sister!

is solved by _Madam_ (_ma_, _dam_, _mad_, _Adam_, _Ada_).

In addition to the singularly appropriate anagram that has been so happily attached to the name of Florence Nightingale, _Flit on, cheering angel_, the same group of letters can be recast as an aspiration for her continuance in our loving memory, so that they form the sentence, _Cling on, feeling heart_.

The rebus--

I am a man I rate you a beast You know me

reads thus:--I rate you lower than a man, above a beast. Know between you and me I am above the rest.

The charade--

My first, thou knowest, was in ancient Rome, Rome’s fate my next, and one that all may dread. Long may it be before that fate shall come And sever with my whole thy life’s last thread!

is solved by _Scissors_ (Lat. _scis_, thou knowest; _sors_, a lot).

The poets’ names buried in the lines--

The sun is darting rays of gold Upon the moor, enchanting spot; Whose purpled heights, by Ronald loved, Up open to his shepherd cot.

And sundry denizens of air Are flying--aye, each to his nest; And eager make at such an hour All haste to reach the mansions blest.

are Gray, Moore, Byron, Pope, Dryden, Gay, Keats and Hemans.

The enigma--

This multiplies me, I declare, Though it reduces one; A sty is foul if it is there, By it a deed is done.

is solved by the letter _n_ (_me_ becomes _men_; _one_, _none_; _a sty_, _nasty_.)

Lennie _parsed_ the words he read, Studying _Praed’s_ fable; Lennie’s mother _rasped_ the bread, Sophy _drapes_ the table. “Work while you are _spared_,” they said, “_Spread_ while you are able!”

The words in italics have the same letters.

The charade--

When I write with my first, in my second, My whole is quite sure to be in. Divided afresh, there is reckoned A wit, or a something that’s thin. Prefix a letter, and, as clear as paint, You see the name of an old English Saint,

is solved by _Within_ (Swithin).

The puzzle lines--

My first, though half a noisy bird, To a slight noise may turn; My second-twist, a stately word, And it will bend we learn.

are solved by _Pardon_ (rap-nod).

The enigma--

To half of ten add one Then half a score. When this is duly done Almost ten more. This can be good for none, But trial sore.

is solved by _Vixen_.

The buried proverb--

I fancy this Tory outcry, this weary outrageous attempt to show illegality, is as a cat chasing snow-flakes. I must be forgiven if I shun his example--is--

_If you swear you will catch no fish_.

Quick _veerers_ in action, now timid, now bold, Like _reevers_ of ropes far too rotten to hold, _Reserve_ a _severer reverse_ and disasters For a State that _reveres_ not incapable masters.

The six words in italics are spelt with the same letters.

My first is an heir, My second a snare, My whole is the offspring of fancy, Which I sent on its way Last Valentine’s Day, As a token of love to my Nancy.

is solved by _Sonnet_.

The lover’s vow--

My love shall never know my first, Shall never be my second; It shall my all, come best, come worst, Be surely reckoned.

is solved by _Endless_.

The enigma--

I am a letter, and a word, I am a tree, I am a name, Cut me in pieces with a sword, You and your act would be the same. Thrice you must leave the aspirate in doubt, And use it twice if you would find me out.

is solved by U, You, Hugh, Yew, How.

If you “resist disasters,” this may, by anagram, _distress a sister_.

The charade--

My first the rainbow shows When in rich hues it glows. My next has vowels three; My third was once a tree. My fourth begins the year, My whole the past makes clear.

is solved by _Archæology_.

If you ask a schoolboy to estimate the value of the grass in a triangular field, of which the longest side measures 100 rods, and each of the other sides 50 rods, at £1 per acre, it may take him some little time to see that he is being sold, since the condition is not fulfilled that any two sides of a triangle _must be greater than the third side_.

Less than my last, my whole has place Between my first and second: Second has body, arms and face; First is by inches reckoned.

is solved by _waistcoat_.

The historical charade--

My first at early morn the camp alarms, And at its sound the soldier springs to arms; My second nowadays fair ladies scorn, Though in less dainty days it oft was worn. My whole, a battle fought on Scottish ground, With victory the rebel forces crowned.

is solved by the battle of _Drumclog_.

I love strolling _troupes_ that go wandering round, Each _spouter_ a _Proteus_ in versatile skill; Each _posture_ so quaint, each idea so profound, My barn’s at their service, whenever they will. A company played there last night, but to-day Ducks, _pouters_, and poultry have vanished away!

The five words in italics are spelt with the same seven letters.

The Arithmorem “150 hat robe or tent” forms the name Charlotte Bronte.

The Shedding Letters enigma--

I’m a worker most active, most useful, most known, Of all that are busy in country and town. Take from me one letter, and yet my good name In spite of this loss will continue the same. Take from me two letters, and still you will see That precisely the same in effect I shall be. Take from me three letters, or even take more, Yet still I continue as sound as before.

is solved by _The Postman_!

When Tom Larkins challenged his sisters to prove on a blackboard that if 50 is subtracted from the sum of the nine digits the result equals the number obtained by dividing their sum by 3, he showed them that the sum of the digits may be written thus: XLV, and that if the L, which represents 50, is removed, XV, or 15, the third of 45, remains.

In the “Geese to Market” problem--

B drove a goodly flock of geese, And met with Farmer A; Said Farmer A, “How much apiece For this lot did you pay?” Said B, “I paid for all I drive Just six pounds and a crown, And I am selling all but five At the next market town. If fifteen pence a head I charge Beyond the price I paid, I shall secure a sum as large As he who sold all made.”

B bought 25 geese at 5s. each, and proposed to sell 20 of them at 6s. 3d.

The charade--

When second held first For best or for worst, I thought myself happy to win her. But what could I say When the very next day She gave me the whole for my dinner?

is solved by _Herring_.

In the lines--

The bees’ blithe vernal love-songs softly hum, Blending so sweetly with the restful air; The noiseless, deep-laced twilight shadows come, And well I ken the lass who meets me there--

the familiar adage, “Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home” is buried.

The mutilations in--

A little beast without its head Becomes a mighty beast instead: But then the subject of my riddle Is cut asunder in the middle; And nothing this division gains, Though unknown quantity remains.

are _Fox_, _ox_, _o_, _x_.

Mary sat with _slate_ in hand, Writing _tales_ dramatic. Did she _steal_ the plots she planned? Negative emphatic! _Stale_ to us the _tales_ may be, But at _least_ they’re new to she!

The old Sanscrit problem, quoted by Longfellow in his “Kavanagh,”

Ten times the square root of a flock of geese, seeing the clouds collect, flew to the Manus lake. One-eighth of the whole flew from the edge of the water among a tangle of water lilies, and three couple were seen playing in the water. Tell me, my young girl with beautiful locks, what was the whole number of geese?

is solved by 144.

The enigma--

Six hundred and sixty so ordered may be That if you divide the whole number by three You find the result will exactly express The half of six hundred and sixty, no less--

is solved by turning the sixes of 660 upside down, when it becomes 990, and satisfies the conditions.

The press parody ran thus--

There was a young turkey, oh, bless her! It cost very little to dress her; Some breadcrumbs and thyme About Thanksgiving time, And they ate every bit from the dresser!

She loses her head when she joins the brides, He joins them after tea; But both are swept by ruthless tides Away on the western sea.

is solved by _Hebrides_.

If I have 91 bananas on my barrow, and find, when I have sold one quality at four a penny, and the other at three a penny, that in mixed lots at seven for twopence I should have made a penny more, I had 64 of inferior and 27 of better sort.

The words in italics have the same letters--

How does the sluggard’s garden grow? When _rates_ are high, results are low. His borders _tares_ and bindweed spoil, No careful culture _tears_ the soil; What weeds that _stare_ are all alive Where _aster_, pink, or rose should thrive.

Correctly drawn results I yield, Varied, but welcome everywhere; But met with in the open field I’m banned if frequent, blest if rare. To this peculiar difference the clue Is called with much significance the cue.

is solved by _Cheque_, _check_ (the letter Q).

The three towns buried in the lines--

Wait while I think the matter over, On holiday intent; The best I’ve seen is surely Dover, That pretty port of Kent.

are _Leith_, _Thebes_, _St Ives_.

An Arab came to the river side, With a donkey bearing an obelisk; But he did not venture to ford the tide, For he had to good an ass to risk (_asterisk_).

So he camped all night by that river side, Secure till the tide had ceased to swell, For he knew that whenever the donkey died, No other could be its _parallel_ (‖).

The charade--

What ho, my jolly _second!_ never say my _first_ While my final you can find in Amsterdam. Think how a sound _whole_ stays your hunger and your thirst, Deftly readjusting bread and meat and jam.

is solved by _Dietary_ (Amsterdam is on the River Y).

The schoolboy who calculated that if he had made as many more runs at a cricket match, and half as many more, and two runs and a half, he would have made a score, scored seven runs.

The enigma--

Six letters spell the happy state Of two in love made one. The same six letters tell the fate Of marriage ties undone.

is solved by _United_, _untied_.

The riddle--

My first’s a bond, my second’s weigh; These own the rest of all my lay; Busy my third; fourth like the pole, Whose opposite my fifth makes goal.

is solved by _Shackle_, _Tons_, _Ant_, _Arctic Expedition_.

[Lieutenant Ernest H. Shackleton, R.N., leader of his South Polar Expedition.]

For two months at the _nets_ we played, Ere we were _sent_ to Lord’s; Alas! the score our champion made Was what a _nest_ affords. The crowd in _tens_ of thousands came, But took scant notice of the game.

The words in italics have the same letters.

When Edwin and Angelina received these mutual Marconigrams--

“No fickle girl is bonnie to my mind.” “In love inconstant I no pleasure find,”

he was at Lisbon and she was at Constantinople, as is indicated by the fact that the names of these places are “buried” in the messages.

The Mental Arithmetic--

Set down three figures in a line, Then multiply by four; This, if you use the proper sign, Makes five, and nothing more.

is solved by 1.25. In 1¹⁄₄ the figures are not _in a line_.

The doublet by missing words, in which a grilse is turned into a salmon, is solved thus--

To silver Tweed, or broader Spey, The _grilse_ of _silver_, _sailer_ gay, Guides on; the _sailor morals_ draws When _salmon_ follows Nature’s laws.

One letter is changed in each link.

The enigma--

I never move, and yet I run From place to place all day; Some loving swain, hot foot for fun, Sees Dora in my way--

is solved by _Road_, which spells also _Dora_.

The Letters--

~HAATTCEUMSSSS~

form the name of the State _Massachusetts_.

The enigma--

Seven words in one of letters five we fix, Six English, and one Latin; No need to twist them, or afresh to mix, If puzzles you are pat in.

is solved by _There_: the words are--_there_, _here_, _her_, _the_, _ere_, _he_, _re_.

The full solution of the answer by anagram to the question, “Why is every angler ipso facto an Ananias?” is--

A liar, he spins gay fancies to a woven yarn.

Question and answer are spelt with _the same letters_.

The quaint riddle--

Peter White Will never go right; Shall I tell you the reason why? Wherever he goes, He follows his nose, And that stands all awry! If this appendage had slanted more. Why would it serve a hole to bore?

is solved thus--It would be _Askewer_ (a skewer!)

“S” is the missing letter which occurs 55 times, and these are the four lines:--

This season’s sunshine smiles, such storms as pass Assist us to assess success or loss. Spring’s sweetness still possesses mossy grass, As summer’s tresses mass soft shades across.

The enigma--

Protected, open, plain, Without my tail I’m flat; I’m round, curtailed again; Again, you have me pat!

is solved by _Patent_, _paten_, _pate_, _pat_.

The logogriph--

When all are gay this holds the sway, But take a letter out, That change of fare is ruling there, You see, without a doubt. Behead me twice; it is not nice To have this in your skin; Lop head and tail, and find a nail Or tack to drive it in. Behead this right, and in your sight A little word you find; But you will never make it out, Though it is in your mind.

is solved by _feasting_, _fasting_, _sting_, _tin_, _in_.

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

The words in italics are spelt with the same letters.

The 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.

is solved by _Coat_.

The charade--

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

is solved by _Lethe_.

The two palindrome words which can be formed from the letters of the sentence “Arrive to vote at it,” are _Rotator_ and _Evitative_.

The 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.

is solved by _Clover_, _lover_, _over_, _ver_ (Latin for Spring).

When Tommy undertook to put a shilling in his money-box if his father would give him as much as he had in his purse, and after repeating the process for three more days found himself penniless, he had elevenpence farthing in his purse at first.

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

is solved by _Theatres_ (_tres_, Latin for _three_).

When young Hopeful said, “If it were possible I should choose a life double as long,” and old Sobersides answered, “Yes, and you might turn it to better account if it was also begun old,” and the fact that their actual words “double as long,” and “also begun old,” were spelt with _exactly the same letters_, gave emphasis to the reply.

The 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!”

is solved by _Drama_, _ram_, _a dram_.

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

The words in italics have the same letters.

The proof by anagram that the words of commendation “blessed in pain,” are properly applied to anæsthetics, is that exactly the same letters spell _indispensable_.

The quotation buried in the sentence--

“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 pineapple, Leonidas,” she said; “I guess we Ethiopians just love fruit!”

is “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

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

The words in italics are spelt with the same four letters.

Three _ladies_ went sailing out into the West, Out into the West as the sun sank low; Each thought as she _sailed_ of the lad she loved best For they all had _ideals_, and each had a beau.

· · · · · · ·

But seas will rise, and spirits will sink, And they all were too ill of _ideals_ to think, So these _ladies sailed_ back moaning!

The words in italics have the same six letters.

The 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,

is solved by _Punchestown_.

The enigma--

Accent my head, An opening I appear; In other fashion said I charm all far and near--

is solved by _Entrance_.

The two sentences--

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

are anagrams of _The Houses of Parliament_ and _Westminster Abbey_.

When on the Brighton beach an excited collie in pursuit of stones thrown into the sea, suggested the riddle, “What is the difference between that dog and a hungry man?” The appropriate answer was, “The one stops and shakes himself; the other chops and steaks himself!”

The hidden animal in--