A RHYMING RIDDLE.

"A white little army of men,
A foraging party of ten,
Are guards to a prisoner one,
The aim of whose life is to run.
He runs over infinite ground,
Yet never escapes from his bound;
Kept close by the little white men,
Who hold him confined in his den.
He oft makes a rush at the gates;
But there, like invincible fates,
The vigilant army of men
Stand quiet as sheep in a pen,-
But sharp as a wolf or a fox,-
To drive him back fast within locks.
But always controll'd in the nick
Of time by those white little guards,
Preventing his passing their wards:
And though he makes many a trip,
Can never quite give them the slip,
They range him so perfectly round;
While still at their posts they are found,
Good sentinels, sleepless as lynx,
That rarely an eyelid e'er winks.
This prisoner, restless and red,
Who never moves out of his bed,
Yet constantly active and strong,
Dislikes to keep quiet for long,-
This captive, whose quarters are head,
And rather would lead than be led,
These white little men who keep watch,—
Who cut into flesh with a tear,

Yet none of them swords do they wear,
These foragers brisk and alert,

Who never were known to desert,-
Well, who are they all-can you say

?

Come tell me their names, now, I pray."

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"Do you give it up, Sir?" said little Mary, eagerly, to Mr. Singleton, "I wish you 'd let me tell it you."

"I give it up certainly," said he, smiling.

Teeth, tongue, and fingers," said Mary, so quickly as to show how anxious she was to forestal him in guessing the

answer.

320

CONUNDRUMS, CHARADES, AND REBUSES.

"Tell me a conundrum, Neighbour Willy," said little George.

"What is that which a lover dreads, and a traveller desires? returned he.

"If I knew whether I ought to spell the word with one 'r,' or with two, I think I could answer" said Mr. Alexius.

"You have guessed, I see," smiled Humphrey Willy, 66 and may either say 'a rival,' or ‘arrival.'”

Why is an author the most anomalous of animals? asked Mr. Singleton.

66

Because he's more thin-skinned than thick-skulled, perhaps," suggested Mr. Broughton.

Mr. Singleton shook his head, laughing, and said, “No; it is because his tale grows from his head."

"Charades and rebuses are somewhat alike, are they not?" asked William.

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'Yes," replied Lucy England. "A charade consists of a word divided into syllables, each syllable being described separately, and then conjointly thus:-'My first is the husband of my second, my third is their house, my fourth is their idle neighbour, and my whole is a beautiful flowering plant.'

999

"If it be, as I suspect, rhododendron,' Sincere-eyes,' said Mr. Warden, laughing, "you have taken the liberty of adding an 'e' to make up your 'drone.' You young ladies are accused of being disturbers of repose; therefore, I suppose you think you have a right to give ease where you choose."

"Roe, doe, den, drone," murmured little Mary, to herself. "Ah, I see; but what is a rebus ?"

"A rebus," answered Lucy England, "is formed of the letters in a word used as initials, thus- The opening of a

flower, the beginning of an illness, and the commencement of nodding off to sleep, compose part of a fish."

"Let me see,-the first letters,-oh, I have it! F, i, n, spells fin!" exclaimed William. "Ay, you purposely made it very plain."

"A branch of puzzledom is what may be called parlourmagic, legerdemain, or sleight of hand," said Mr. Broughton. "In our present age of analysis, practicality, and reasoning, the old wonders of the Black Art step from the sublime obscure of their ancient dignity and position in men's minds; and instead of inspiring awe or dread, merely awaken desire to discover the means by which they are effected. Certain that there is a natural cause for the apparently supernatural marvels we behold, instead of trembling, we set ourselves steadily to investigate and learn the secret of the trick."

"The practisers of magic in times of yore," said Mr. Singleton, "found their account in impressing the minds of men with fear, vague worship, and blind submission to a mysterious power, while the influence thus obtained yielded indirect though fruitful results; but now-a-days, wizards, sorcerers, and conjurors turn their skill to profit, by its exhibition as avowed performers of 'clever tricks.' They are confessedly dexterous and adroit; sinister by candid admission. The only concealment they have recourse to, is the care to hide their mode of procedure; and the only deception, to deceive the eye. They make no pretence of possessing more than human gifts; they merely pretend to play the magician, and amuse the spectators."

"You yourself occasionally play the magician' after this fashion, do you not, Charles ?" asked Mr. Warden. "Yes, I know he does!" exclaimed George and Mary. "He showed us some conjuring tricks when he was last here. Oh do, Sir, play a few now!"

Y

322

TRICKS WITH CARDS.

"Well," answered he, "I'll go and see if I have brought my magical box with me; I think it is in my great-coat pocket in the hall. William, will you come and help me to find it?"

While they went out to look for the coat, Mr. Alexius said he would show two or three tricks with a pack of cards. He told the children he would undertake to waft all the four kings by one puff of breath, into a snug spot for a

royal conference-namely, the middle of the pack. He first marshalled their majesties in a row upon the green baize of the card table, before the eyes of the spectators, and when sufficiently viewed, he turned the monarchs with their faces downwards, and then gathered them together beneath the pack. To show that they were there, he drew off the bottom one, and held it up to sight. It was the king of spades. "His 'hoary majesty' shall be the first to take

his way towards the appointed spot, thus far," said Mr. Alexius, placing the card on the top of the pack. "And now let two of his regal brethren repair thither straight," proceeded he, drawing forth a couple more, and putting them into the centre. Now, I give my magic puff and lo, they will all four be arrived. He put the pack before little Mary, requesting her to cut the cards, and then to look them all through. She did so; and

behold, there lay the four crowned heads close together, in the very middle, debating on the affairs of their respective kingdoms.

When the surprise consequent on discovering them had subsided, Mary asked for another trick; and Mr. Alexius said he would show her one, in which, not only the kings, but their royal consorts, should figure. He lay down the four queens in a row, and said, "Here you see four royal ladies, who, once upon a time, missed their diamond necklaces, which I will show you," and he placed four small diamonds upon each queen. "As they prized these jewels very much, they resolved to go in search of their necklaces, and accordingly, each queen took a page with her (here they are the four aces), and left the palace. Every page was armed with a club (here they are-four small clubs), to defend their mistresses, in case of attack. Some hours having elapsed, the kings (here they are) became anxious, and set forth after their queens, attended by four knights possessed of the stoutest hearts in all the realm (here they are-four hearts). They had not travelled far, when they came up with four knaves (here they are), who had stolen the diamonds, and had prepared spades (here they are four spades) to dig a hole, and bury their booty; but the rogues were now in safe custody, having been met by the queens and their pages, overpowered, and