Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1871-01-18
Lo, Of Pnz1Ics.

| 1.-TWO brothers" began the professor, impress
| s!yely addressing the hostess, "were walking to-
| gether down the street. and one Of them, stop
| ping at a certain house, knocked at the door,
| observing, 4 have a niece here who is ILL.,
| Thank heaven" observed the other, 4 have got
no niece, and he walked away Now how could
| that beP
"Why, it's riddle p exclaimed Mr. Funnidog,
delightedly.
"And one that you will not guess in a hurry,
simple as it is" observed the professor conf
| IDENTIFY. Come, ladies and gentlemen, solve the
problem"
81 see -" calculated Mrs. Housewife.
Hush whisper in my ear, cried Puzzeton,
with all the excitement of a child with top.
Don't let EN- hear it. Niece by marriage.
stuff and nonsense. The thing is not any fool
ish kind of catch at all; and once more he
glanced with hostility at Funnidog, as much as
to say, "Such as be would ask YOU" Nothing can
be simpler than my question. give got a niece,
that's i'll, says one brother. "Thank heaven, |
have not got niece" says the other. How can
that beP You all give it up2 Well, the invalid
was his daughter"
ooh, see, said Mrs. Housewife despondingly.
How very stupid in us not 10 find it out"
Yes, indeed, ma'am," answered the remorse-
less savant THAT failure only shows how diff
cult 1t is for ordinary minds to grasp more than
one idea at the same time. The attention is
solely fixed on the different varieties of nieces."
And, alSo,' observed Mr.. Aoes (who was
much displeased at being classed among COR
binary minds }, "and, also, the attention is
naturally distracted from the point at issue by
the brutality of the fathers remark. Now that
is in itself "a CATCH in my opinion"
well, sir, will give you another simple OK
ercise for the understanding that has no such
distracting element" observed the professor,
coolly. ga blind beggar had brother. The
brother died. What relation were they to one
anotherP Come, tell me that"
why, they were brothers." exclaimed the
colonel with fbn Of Io,r tI,o
bottom of bis class, who hopes to gain promo
ton.
ono, sir" answered the professor, regarding
Thunderbomb with interest," as a significant
type of some low order of intelligence, "they
were, not brothers, OF | should scarcely have
asked the question"
They might be brothers-in-law," suggested
Funnidog.
Undoubtedly they might" replied Puzzle
ton, with plying smile; "but they were not"
stop bit" said Mcpherson, hurriedly, like
one VINO has not got his answer quite ready, but
yet doesn't wish to be anticipated. "The blind
beggar, you say, had a brother, and the brother
died. Well, Of course, if one was dead, you
know they could not be brothers any longer"
The idea is novel; observed the Professor,
gravely; "but you have not hit upon the exact
solution. The fact is, gentlemen and ladies, a
blind beggar may be either male or female. In
this instance she was female. They were
brother and sister"
81 call that catch, )" said Aloes, gloomily.
"Well, at at all events, it was an easy one,
and you all missed it, returned the Professor
with quiet triumph. "Now, will give you one
more example of social arithmetic, which win be
in all respects bona tide. 1t is a simple questio
in subtraction, and all shall ask of you is
since two or three guesscs would arrive at the
truth by mere elimination-tO write down the
reply on paper. man went into Cobhler's
and bought a pair of boots for sixteen shillings
He put down a sovereign twenty shillmgs), and
The cobbler having no change sent to a neigh
boring public house, and gave it to him. Later
in the day the landlord of the inn sent in to say
that the sovereign was bad one and insisted
upon the coObler making it right; which he ac-
cordingly did. Now, how much did the cobbler
lose by the whole transaction There is no play
upon words, Or anything but common sum in
arithmetic"
"Why, it's the easiest thing in the world"
calculated Housewife. "Of course the cobber
lost just"
"Be quiet sir!' cried Puzzleton very angrily.
Write it down, will you, if you can write"
Scratch professor, and you find Tartar"
whispered AlOes. "You had better do as he
Wishes"
So we all wrote down what we imagined to be
the loss which the cobbler had sustained; and it
was wonderful how opinions differed within
such narrow limits.
The colonel made him lose two pounds.
Mr.. Aloes made him lose just pound and
the boots.
Mr.. Funnidog made him lose six and thirty
shllings.
Mr.. Mcpherson made him lose sixteen shil-
lings and the boots, minus the profit he made
upon the boots (which, said the professor, it is
not necessary to take into consideratiou).
Mr.. Scale Hill, who used to investigate the
| bills of extortionate Swiss landlords. set down
theloss with confidence at twelve shillings and
the boots.
Housewife wrote: "Why, of course, he lost
the boots and twenty-four shillings."
Mrs. Housewife and the ladies bit their pens,
but declined TO commit themselves. "They had
never been taught" they said, "the Rule of
Three"
"You are all wrong" said the professor
quietly, Gas expected you would be. The way
to get at the matter is to consider what is
gained. The landlord and his whole story of
changing the sovereign may be taken out of
the question, since he is neither better nor worse
for the transaction. The buyer of the boots gets
in exchange for his bad sovereign four shillings
and pair of boots, and that is just what the
cObbler loses"
of one only had room to ones self, and the
whole day before one to do it in" sighed Mrs.
Housewife: 81 think l could answer any Of
these questions"
Attention is called to the advertisement of II. j.