ANSWERS TO MISCELLANEOUS PUZZLES. 1. ENIGMA. The letter I. 2. REBUS. Parliament. 3. GEOGRAPHICAL ACROSTIC. Geography. Ganges-Elba-Ohio-Geneva--Rome-Amazon-Par. nassus-Himalayas-Ypres. 4. A PROTEAN PUZZLE. A sheet, 1 of water, 2 a sail, 3 baking sheet, 4 sheet of metal, 5 linen sheet, 6 sheet of ice, 7 of paper, 8 of a book, 9 of glass, 10 of wax, 11 of wadding. 5. PORT. 1. Pass-port; 2. Ex-port; 3. Com-port; 4. Sup-port; 5. Rap-port; 6. Sea-port; 7. Im-port; 8. Pur-port; 9. Trans-port; 10. Re-port; 11. Misre-port; 12. Dis-port; 13. De-port. 6. FOUR PUZZLES. 1st Puzzle-The letter E. "Persevere, ye perfect men, Ever keep these precepts ten." 2nd Puzzle-NINE. 3rd Puzzle-If the grate be empty, put some coal on; but if the grate be full, stop. 4th Puzzle-Because it is D parted. 7. HISTORICAL ENIGMA. - Solon-Tyndale - Rubicon (passed by Julius Cæsar when leading his army to Rome) — Ireland-Socrates. 9. ENIGMA. Words. ANSWERS TO ANAGRAMS. 1. Misanthrope. 2. Astronomers. 3. Old England. 4. Revolution. 5. Presbyterian. 6. Telegraphs. 7. Malt-house. 8. Radical Reform. 9. James Stuart. 10. Solemnity. 12. Potentates. 13. Penitentiary. 14. A joint-stock company. 19. Enigmatically. 23. Parishioners. The three thimbles, the pea and stick, inverted on a flat board. The operator takes the pea between his first finger and thumb, and while pretending to convey it under the thimble, A, he dexterously uses his thumb, and places the pea between the second and third finger, where it is clipped or held tight; at the same moment he lifts B, and perhaps, if very clever, may allow the pea to roll out of his fingers, and in a feigned condition of surprise and hurry instantly covers it, seemingly with B. eyes upon the latter, and is The victim now fixes his greatly surprised when c is raised to see the pea under it. The person deceived supposes, of course, that all the parade of placing the hand under the thimble c is only a blind to draw his attention off from B. The various positions are shown in the second figure, and, of course, the operator may so arrange matters that the pea is always concealed between his fingers, and, if the three thimbles were knocked over simultaneously, the fraud would be at once discovered. BAL If the pea is kept in the hand, the unfortunate person who is induced to bet upon the game must of course lose every time; but a clever trickster can always manage to deceive the eyes and leave the pea under one of the thimbles, and the victim is sure to select the wrong one. Chaining and Rope-Tying Tricks. An illustration taken from the Encyclopédie Méthodique, dedicated to the most serene Republic of Venice, and published 1793, shows that the clever juggling tricks of the Davenport Brothers and their numerous imitators are not new. It must be evident that the passage of the chain over the head is the key to the disentanglement and release of the prisoner from his heavy chain of rings so carefully secured (apparently) with the padlock. The following explanation may enable our readers to form an opinion of the nature of such illusory exhibitions. The Polytechnic Rope-Tying Ladder Trick. A stout ladder-like framework, made very substantially, and all the uprights secured to the cross bars by long screws, is first exhibited to the public, and of course some clever silly out of the audience is always to be found who (in the interests of the public) undertakes to examine the frame, and in answer to the exhibitor's question will invariably say it is "all right." The assistant is now introduced, and is carefully secured by the "exhibitor" with ropes to the bars, and the "wise man" out of the audience seals up all the knots with red tape and sealing wax. An extinguisher or framework open at the top only, and covered with canvas, is now placed over the ladder to which the assistant is tied, and in less time than is required to write the next three lines of this description, M |