Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1877-01-31

Parent OF sweet sounds, yet mute forever"
The initials A E 10 u formed an
enigma that lasted during many years
of the reign of Frederick the Third,
Elector of Austria and Emperor of
Germany in the fifteenth century,
They were inscribed on public build
ings, on regimental flags ON the back
of books, and On the imperial plate.
A solution was found among the En-
pero1's papers, after his death, in Ger
man and Latin; and suffici emily boast
full it certainly was:
''Alles Erdreich list Esterreich unterthan.
Austriee est imperare Orbi universe.
Anothe form of 0 u enigma is that
clever production which was for long
time attributed to the late Professor
Whewell, bat which is now said to have
been due to Rev. r. Ederton Warbur-
ton, although the reply may have been
WhewelPs. 1t is based on the near
identity of sound between "cipher"
and sigh for" on the fact that cipher
stands for zero, naught, 0, or nothing;
that cipher is also motto or mono
gram; and that the explanation 0
(Oh!) is shaped nearly like the cipher
%. A lady is supposed to ask for
your cipher and motto, and you reply
as follows:
gu o, but o thee,
OOno 0, but o me;
Or else let thy o go,
And give back o thee"
The lady responds thus:
"Pd O your 0, but U not:
0 am /, and can't 0 your lot;
send you and your pain;
But 0 your 0 q o in vain"
The word sigh reminds us of the fol-
lowing elegant trifie:
" 1t came, though fetched it; when come it was
gone;
1t stayed but moment; it could not stay long;
ask not who saw tit could not be seen,
And yet might be felt by king or queen"
AS g. kiss Is next door to g. sigh, we
append here d pretty triplet by Sir
Thomas Wyatt, dated as far back as the
ime of Henry the Eighth:
Alady gave me a gift she had not
And | received her gift which | took not,
And if she take it again [ grieve not"
Effects Of a ludicrous kind-all the
more ludicrous through being wholly
unexpected-are produced by present
ing in majestic Or elegant form what
was originally nursery rhyme, Or, per-
haps, a humorous ditty. One scarcely
recognizes comic song, much in IA
vor some years ago, when dressed up
in the stanzas beginning: If I had 8
Quadruped averse to speed" etc. The
elegant fur bishing which Jack and Gill
has received may be cited as another
example:
"'Twas not an Alpine snow Or ice,
But honest English ground,
Excelsior was their device;
But sad the fate they found.
Tbnv did climb for love r. fame
But folloW'd dutys call;
They were together in their aim,
But parted in their fall"
The late Bishop Wilberforce, who
relieved more grave studies by occa-
sional p1easantries Of wit and hunoor.
constructed an enigma On man" by
the employment of 81 whole string of
words having two Or more meanings
each: "AIl pronounce me wonder
ful piece of mechanism, and yet few
people have numbered the strange
medley of which am comprised. [
have large box and two lids, two caps,
two musical instruments, a number of
weathercocks, two established meas
ures, some weapons of warfare, and q
GREAT many little articles that car
penter cannot do without. Then /
have about me couple of esteemed
fishes, and great many of smaller
size, two lofty trees, and the fruit Of
an indigenous plant; handsome stag,
and great number Of sm all kinds of
game; two halls Or places of worship,
two students or scholars, the stairs of
hotel, and half a score Of Spanish gen.
tlemen to attend on me; I have what
is the terror of the slave, also two do
nestle animals and number Of mega
tives." We should have said-but
most readers will soon see this for
themselves--that there are here not
only similar words with dissimlar
meanings, but also words having the
same sounds though differently spelled.
Many enigmas have been put forth
with an announcement that the author
would give prize Of sum Of money
correct solution. It may be doubted
whether such iberality is anything
more than bit Of waggery. There
was one which was attributed some
times to Lord Chesterfield, sometimes
to Miss Seward, and for a correc. solu-
ton of which FL 900 was offered. We
should be sorry to guarantee either he
attribution or the offer. One form of
it is in twenty-five lines; another, in
fourteen. The latter runs thus:
The nobest object ia the work of art;
The brightest scene that nature doth impart;
The well-known signal ia the time of peace;
The point essential ID q tenants lease;
The plOwman's comfort when he holds the pillow:
The soldiers duty and the lovers vow;
A planet seen between the earth and sun;