TO TEST THE WIT and cleverness of our young folks in the mastery of the following study in concealed geography, wherein the locality of the incident is hidden in the description of the picture, we will take occasion to gauge their sense of humor by asking each one to also express an opinion regarding the full meaning of the Jolly Hibernian’s sarcastic remark.
In the juvenile puzzle wherein the object was not only to discover the locality of the incident, but to explain the meaning of the jolly Hibernian’s sarcasm, it may be said that our young puzzlists readily located the incident as concealed in the sentence: "Begora, Mr. P. (hiC) (HIC) A GOod batin ye’d get if I could get in yer cage I"
Everyone, however, did not appreciate the subtlety of his addressing the nine dummy tailors as one man, nor his slurring intimation that Mr. Shaw’s name should be spelled “Pshaw!” to say nothing about his criticism of Mr. Shaw’s grammar in saying that he and not his goods could not be beaten.
2. A REBUS.
My first is a negative greatly in use,
Which people first say when they mean to refuse;
My second we'll call a measure of weight,
Frequently used when talking of freight.
An article always in use is my whole,
With texture and form under fashion’s control;
A something that’s needed all over the earth,
Yet often is quoted a thing of small worth.
Cypher Ans. 2, 21, 20, 20, 15, 14.
BUTTON
3.
Behead a crime and leave common sense? T-reason.
What snuff-taker is that whose box gets fuller the more pinches he takes? The snuffers!
Why have miserly people never quarreled? Because they have always a-greed.
Why are people of short memories necessarily covetous? Because they’re always for-getting something.
4. Accident Insurance.
To get away from the drudgery of mathematics, however, I will illustrate a good story I heard the other day about a shrewd blacksmith, who was called on to shoe a spirited horse for the agent of a well-known insurance company. The agent assured the honest smith that the beast was gentle and kind, and induced him to name a low price for the job.
Not liking the vicious pose of the animal’s ears, nor the shifty movements of its eyes, the prudent man first went over to the agent’s office and speculated somewhat in accidental benefits. The sketch shows the horse endowing the cautious smith with a weekly annuity of $50 for a fractured collar bone and sundry bruises, which will not heal for years. The puzzle, however, is to discover the concealed locality of the incident.
HIDDEN CITY”Hartford.
5. AN OLD STYLE ENIGMA.
I am composed of twelve letters.
My 2, 8, 9, is dug out of the earth .
My 6, 11, 12, 8, is a numeral.
My 4, 2, 3, is an instrument of war.
My 12, 8, 1, is a vessel used in former times.
My 5 is a vowel.
My 4, 7, 1, 9, is a hard substance.
My 10, 9, is a pronoun.
My whole is now before you.
NOW BEFORE YOU
My ORE is dug out of the earth .
My FOUR is a numeral.
My BOW is an instrument of war.
My URN is a vessel used in former times.
My E is a vowel.
My BONE is a hard substance.
My YE is a pronoun.
6. A REBUS.
My tongue is long, my breath is strong,
And yet I breed no strife.
My voice you hear both far and near,
And yet I have no life.
Cypher Ans. 2, 5, 12, 12.
BELL
7.
Why should the number 288 never be mentioned in refined company? Because it is two gross.
What letters of the alphabet are most like a Roman emperor? The C’s are.
What is the breed of the dog-star? A sky-terrier.
When may a man be said to be literally immersed in business? When he’s giving a swimming lesson.
When giving invitations to a dancing party what single word will tell the hour to begin dancing? At ten dance (attendance).
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