Rensselaer Republican, Volume 12, Number 47, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 August 1880 — Enigmas, Puzzles and Rebuses. [ARTICLE]

Enigmas, Puzzles and Rebuses.

i —— t Enigmas are compooitiowofxxftfliNr. ent character, based upon ideas rather than upon words, and frequently constructed no as to mislead, and to surprise when the solution is made known. Enigmss may be founded upon simple catches, like conundrums, in which form they sie nvnally called Bumhxs, such na ~ The answer is, A nail m a aAoe. The ceP eteated Enigma, by Lord Byron, is an admirable specimeu of what may be rendered in an Enigma. The ancients ftbled a monster whom ttiey named the Sphinx, and whom they described m having the head and breasts of a woman, the body of a dog. the tail Of a serpent the wings of a bird, the Ki of a lion, and a human voice, monster, it was said, was sent into the neighborhood of Thebes by Junot who wished to punish the family of Cadmus. It wm ftirther stated, that he laid this part of Breotia under continual alarms, *by propotmg Bnfftnat, and devouring the inhabitants if unable to explain them. Also, that m the calamity of this monster had become an object of public concern, and m the succeanftil explana. tion of an enigma would end in the death of the Sphinx, Cieon promised his crown and Jocasta to him who succeeded in the attempt. The enigma proposed was this. -M. ■ ». ‘What animal in the morning walks on four feet, at noon on two, and in the evening on three? CEdipus solved the enigma—on which the monster dashed his head against a rock and perished. Answer, Man : in the morning, or days of infancy, he crawls, or walks on ‘allfownat noon, or in the days of youth and middle age, he uses two feet only; in the evening, or in his old age, he requires the support of a staff, so that he may be said to walk upon three feet. Rebuses are a class of enigmas generally formed by the first, sometimes by the first and last letter of words, or by transposition of letters, or additions to words. Dr. Johnson, however, represents Rebus to be a word represented by a picture. And putting the Doctor’s definition and our own explanation together, the reader may form a good conception of the nature of the Rebus. Example: The toremoat land in all the world. The mother of mankind; A poet whose lovMoeMte are SUII very much admired;— The initial letter* will declare A blemlnt to the tired. ; Answer—Saturn; Love; England; Eve; Plutarch. The initials form »Uep. Pussies vary very much. One of the simplest that we know is this:— Take away half of thirteen and let nghl remain. Write XIII on a slate or piece of paper—rub out the lower half of the figures, and eight will remain.