It appears that five clever newsboys formed a partnership and pooled their issues to lay in a good stock of papers, which they rattled off like hot cakes and then figured up their accounts as follows: Tom Smith sold one paper more than one quarter the whole lot, while Billy Jones disposed of one paper more than a quarter of the remainder. Ned Smith sold one paper more than a quarter of what was left, and Charley Jones disposed of just one paper more than a quarter of the remainder. At this stage of the game the Smiths were just 100 papers ahead, but little Jimmy Jones the youngest kid of the bunch, sold all that were left, so in this friendly encounter the Jones won out by how many papers do you think?
The Joneses won out by 220 papers.
2. A REBUS.
Four letters form me quite complete,
As all who breathe do show;
Reversed, you'll find I am the seat
Of infamy and woe.
Transposed, you'll see I'm base and mean,
My name betrays my race;
Transposed once more, I oft am seen
To hide a lovely face.
Cipher Ans. 12, 9, 22, 5.
LIVE
3. A CHARADE.
A vowel with two beasts unite,
You’ll have what poets often write.
There are two equally good answers to this charade: 5, 16, 9, 7, 18, 1, 13, or 1, 14, 1, 7, 18, 1, 13.
EPIGRAM or ANAGRAM
4.
What chasm often separates friends? Sar-casm.
Why is O the only vowel sounded? Because all the rest are in-audible.
Why is coffee like an axe with a dull edge? Because it must be ground before it is used.
Why is an old coat like an iron kettle? Because it represents hard ware.
Why is a dressmaker a most deceptive woman? Because she is not what she seams.
5. A Riddle
Perhaps you may know
That two centuries ago
My name in the world was unknown;
But now 'tis allowed
In the midst of a crowd
I am met with in every town.
Though varied each lot
In life I have got,
Yet nothing my course e'er endangers;
And wherever I go
So familiar I grow
That I am nodded to even by strangers.
I am cunning and bold.
For young or for old
I fear not but brawl out aloud;
Pugnacious you'll say,
For I knock down by scores in a crowd.
Auctioneer.
6. A REBUS.
Though small I am, yet, when entire
I often set a house on fire;
Take off one letter, and 'tis clear
I then could hold a herd of deer;
Dismiss one more, and you will know
That once I held a strange cargo.
Spark.
7. A REBUS.
My primal is found where the wild waves are dashing,
And thick falls the cold briny spray;
My final is seen, where the fierce eyes are flashing,
And fortunes are oft thrown away.
To draw your conclusions by spanning my whole.
As to what lies beneath or concealed.
Will oft prove as false as the base flatterer's soul,
When facts, stubborn facts are revealed.
Cipher Ans. 19, 21, 18, 6, 1, 3, 5.
SURFACE
8. A CHARADE.
Without my first you cannot stand,
My second you may now command;
Together I attend your will
And am your humble servant still.
Cipher Ans. 6, 15, 15, 20, 13, 1, 14.
FOOTMAN
10. Concealed Geography
I will ask the young folks to enjoy a simple study in concealed geography by locating the poor postman’s trouble, as illustrated in the following picture:
You see, some charitably disposed schemer had been working an endless chain racket on an unsuspecting public, and was receiving such an immense correspondence that other ladies in the neighborhood became jealous, so the letter-carrier's patience reached the limit when Mrs. Smith threatened to patronize some other postman if she did not get more letters
Easton
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