1.

HERE IS A SOUVENIR puzzle based upon the goblin story of “The Golden Horse-shoe,” which told how it was cut into seven pieces, with a nail hole in each piece, by two strokes of a sword, and how the seven pieces were then suspended by ribbons around the necks of the seven children, as lucky talismans.

It is to be assumed that after giving the first cut the pieces may be piled up before giving the second blow, so as to divide those first pieces again, but the cuts must be straight and there must be no folding or bending of the paper. I showed the puzzle to a clever little jockey at the recent Horse Show. He made a paper horse-shoe, and with the first cut divided it into three pieces; then by laying them together, by the second cut, he succeeded in getting six pieces. The trick, however, is to get, the seventh piece, and while it is really a simple puzzle it is sufficiently interesting to call for some little study.

After you have solved the puzzle as stated, you are invited to try a second stipulation of the problem which is more difficult to discover. In how many pieces can the horseshoe be divided by two straight cuts?

2.

Why is a plum cake like the ocean? Because it contains many currants.

What street, in London puts you in mind of a tooth which has pained you for a long time? Long Acre.

Why does an aching tooth impose silence on the sufferer? Because it makes him hold his jaw.

3. A REBUS.

A selfish, idle race are we
And sots in us their image see;
But place the head upon the tail,
And when we’re advertised for sale,
Ye sons of luxury, beware!
Destruction spreads a tempting snare.

Cypher Ans. 19, 23, 9, 14, 5.

4.

What kind of essence does a young man like when he pops the question? Acquiescence.

What is that which by losing an eye has nothing left but a nose? A noise.

Why are the makers of the Armstrong gun the most dishonest, persons in Her Majesty's service? Because they rifle all the guns, forge the materials, and steel all the gun breeches.