Towanda daily review. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1879-1921, 1880-02-25
Silence Under Trials.
BY PROFESSOR UPHAM.

BY PROFESSOR CPltAM'
When words and acts untrue, unkind
Against thy life like arrows fly,
Receive them with patient mind,
Seek no revenge, make no reply.
Oh, holy science! Tis thy shield,
More strong than warriors twisted mail a;
A hidden strength, might concealed,
Which worldly shafts in vain assail.
He who is silent in his cause,
Has left that cause to heavenly arms,
And Heavens eternal aid and laws
Are swift to ward the threatening harms.
God is our great protecting power!
Be still! The Great Defender moves;
He watches well the dangerous hour,
Nor fails to save the child He loves.
A new puzzle, called "The Game of 15," is
attracting considerable attention just now. A
writer in the Rochester Democrat does not
think much of it, and thus analyses the nyen-
tion:
"Whoever invented the game of l5' either
understood it or did not. If he understood it,
in sending it into market he knowingly per-
petrated Il fraud upon the public. If he did
not understand it he has unwlttingly peretrat-
ed upon the public one of the hughest jokes
of the season.
He calls it The Gem Puzzle and gives us
directions: Place the blocks i'll the box ir-
regularly, then move until in the regular or
der, I. e., move until they are regularly ar
ranged cOnsecutively from l to ID, and gives
a diagram of the numbers on the box as they
will be when so arranged. Multitudes have
looked and studied, and worked to accomplish
this task under the deIusiOu drawn from the
statements upon the box, that under all cir
cu>tances its accomplishment is possible.
Thus hours have been wasted and headaches
SuperinduCed, only to result III failure and
modification at not being able to accomplish
what only few moments before the merest
child had easily done.
The fact is the puzzle amounts to nothing.
1t does not rise to the dignity of game If,
i'll placing the blocks in the box they
happen to fall into the right position
they can be moved into numerical order; but
If they do not. it is impossible to move them
into that order. To illustrate, they may be
so placed that in coming to the last three
numbers 10, IA and 10, they may be left in
six different forms:
F1rSt-Regul0rly. .,................l3 ii 10
Second -lrregularly y..............4 10 Ii
Ihlrd-lrregulary y................l5 Is IA
FOurth-lnversely.. ............10 ii l3
Fifth-lrregulary.. y.................l3 10 IA
Sixth Irregularly y................A IL II
If it so happens that they come out in either
of the last three forms, 4, 5, or 6, it is impos-
slble to move them into regular FORM and
all time spent in the attempt is wasted. If it
so happens that they come out i'll either the
second or third form, the merest child can
easily move them into regular form Again,
all the numbers and squares except the last
five, numbers II, II, 10, IA, and 10, with the
six places, three in in each of the last rows in
box, are entirely useless, except as they aid in
concealing the fraud by making the task of
discovering that the puzzle cannot be accom-
plishcd under the above conditions more diff
cult.
| have assumed that the mover commences
at number and moves toward 10. The same
result will be reached in the last numbers,
commence where and work as you may"
l want to rent good dwelling house on
the first of April.
LEVY RAPHEL,
At 4 cent store