Eureka.

No. 3.

DOUBLE ACROSTIC.

No. 4.

TWO NUMERICAL ENIGMAS.

1.

Gertrude W.

2.

Elvira R. U.

No. 5.

THREE DIAMONDS.

1.—1. A letter. 2. Part of the foot. 3. Circular. 4. Finis. 5. In doll.

Eureka.

(To Douglas.)

2.—1. A consonant. 2. A line. 3. A bird. 4. A receptacle. 5. A consonant.

(To North Star.)

3.—1. A consonant. 2. Past tense of fourth word in this diamond. 3. A great power. 4. A means of sustaining life. 5. A consonant.

Nunky.

ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN No. 143

No. 1.

No. 2.

No, 3.

Synagogue. Elizabeth. America.

Correct answers to puzzles have been received from Beryl Abbott, "Sam Weller, Jun.," "Eureka," Addie Goodnow, M. Goodnow, P. Embury, Henry W. Nichols, Florence P. Jones, Sherman Hait, F. Edwin Harris, Frank Lomas, Arthur Valhalla, Maude A., Lillie Meyer, Elizabeth, Martha, Elsie M. K., Jessie Oppenheimer, Max Wintner, Charley Case, Maggie Holmes, "Fuss and Feathers," "Fern," Emily Atkinson, Gertrude W., Edgar Seeman, M. L., Albert L. Taylor, Laura B. Gretchen, and Eddie S. Hequembourg.

[For Exchanges, see 2d and 3d pages of cover.]

Here comes a poor woman from baby-land,
With five small children on her hand;
One can brew, the other can bake,
The other can make a pretty round cake;
One can sit in the garden and spin,
Another can make a fine bed for the king.
Pray, ma'am, will you take one in?

—From Mother Goose's Melodies.

NINE HOLES, OR EGG-HAT.

Near a wall where the ground is level dig nine or a less number of holes, according to the number of players, large enough for a ball to be bowled in without difficulty. Number them, and let each player be allotted a number, by chance or choice as it may be agreed. A line is drawn about five yards from the holes, at which one of the players places himself, and bowls the ball into one of the holes. The player to whom the hole into which the ball is bowled belongs picks it up as quickly as he can, and endeavors to strike one of the others with it (the latter will run off as soon as they perceive that the ball is not for themselves); if the thrower miss his aim, he loses a point, and is called "a fiver," and it is his turn to bowl; if, however, he strike another, he loses nothing; but the party so struck, in case he fail to hit another with the ball, becomes "a fiver," and it is his turn to bowl. Five or six may be struck in succession, and the ball may be kept up, no matter how long, until a miss be made, when the party so missing loses a point and bowls. It is also allowed for one player to accept the ball from another, and run the risk of striking a third; thus, if A stand close behind B, and C have the ball in front of B, A may signify by motions that he will take the ball, which is then thrown toward him by C; he catches it, and endeavors to strike B before he can run away; if he miss, he loses a point, and bowls. The second bowling is conducted precisely as the first; but he who bowls three times without passing the ball into a hole loses a point, and if he have lost one before, becomes "a tenner"; he must still go on, until he succeeds in putting the ball into a hole; it is his own fault if he bowls into that which belongs to himself. A party who misses his aim a second time becomes a "tenner," he who loses a third point "a fifteener," and when four points are lost, the party stands out. The game goes on until all the players are out but one; the latter wins the game.

This game is sometimes called "Egg-Hat," on account of the players using their caps instead of digging holes; the ball, in this case, is tossed into the caps instead of being bowled into the holes.

A SNAKE STORY.

Once in my home in Ceylon, when I was a little girl, we discovered a large snake coiled up in a corner of the chimney. It was during the rains, and the creature had come inside for warmth.

Well, there was a general stampede out of the room of ayahs and children, and the men-servants were summoned to dispatch the bold intruder. The snake was about seven feet long, and three or four inches in diameter at the thickest part of its body. It was yellow in color, like the old gold so much in favor now with fashionable dames. The men came with long poles to get rid of the intruder; but whether they were too timid to approach it, or the snake was too wide awake, I can not tell, but the creature glided swiftly out of the room into the veranda where we children were looking on with the ayahs, and went down into the compound.

I shall never forget what followed the snake's escape. The men rushed after it, but so quickly did it trail along, they could not even reach its tail. They were in hot pursuit; my little brother, a baby boy of three years, stood laughing and cooing with delight at the fun, his little legs widely astride, when, horror! the snake glided toward the spot where he stood. The men in pursuit stopped suddenly still, the ayahs screamed, my own heart beat with dread.

But judge of what followed. The snake glided, or rather writhed, swiftly between my little brother's legs, without touching him, and disappeared quickly out of sight, probably in the crevice of a tree or hole.

It would be idle to tell my readers what superstitious meaning was held by the natives at my little brother's escape, but they believed that he was especially singled out by the great God from earthly harm.

A brood of young chicks are surrounding a worm,
Much puzzled they are as they see the thing squirm.
What is to be done? they ask one another.
At length they decide upon calling their mother.