, 1881-10-29
Ri dies.

Some Of the oldest AMI most intert ST
ing of riddles are relating TO natural
phenomena moon, stars, wind,
fire, snow and the like. Euignas Of T. IS
character are closely related to the my h,
and occasionally, at least, they may illus
tate the origin of mytholo ,. The per
sonifcation Of the Ler-th fire, for exam
pie, as woman, in an unpol shed Irish
riddle, which has French pr -allels-
| know little old woman
Qnod die excernit, it covers her up at night
Is somewhat curious, recalling snch fire.
goddesses as Hestia and Bright. of quite
different character is an English riddle
on the same subj ct:
Ever eating, ever cloying,
Stu consuming, still destroy ne,
Never finding full repast
Until eat the world at last.
There is an archaic favor aboutthe
Irish riddle (Which, again, hes several
foreign parallels)-
The son upon the housetop and the father not
born
which means smoke from fire not yet
klndled Another one from We2tmeath-
Here have il, yonaer | see it,
A black lamb with blue flee
seems Ia he Of the same family but the
answers to riddles are often dubious and
contradictory, and this one Is explained
to be "ycur breath" Sun riddles are
common enough, but they are generally
If the rudest descl option Little barrel
Of gold en- miry road; a tall, tall
house, a candIestiek of gold : Riddle it
right or let it go by" Doth lr sh.) Por-
haps the following CURIOUS Westmeath
riddle has the same answer, if it = not a
moon riddle
In Moungen's park there Is deer,
Silver horns nd golden ear;
Neither fish, flesh, feather or bone,
In Moungan's park he walks alone.
Rel nd my heel, behind my house,
There is gray mare and her c"ult;
The king and all his men couldn't
Tuna that gray mares tale about.
a white mare i'll the lake that her
foot never vets, though she travels as
far as R..scarberry." White mare on
the hill with her foal al her heel" We
hasten 10 terminate the suspense Of the
reader by explaining that the white mare
is the moon, and the colt is explained to
be a certain star always near her.
Here is the graceful riddle from West,
meath
[ washed my hands in water that never rained
| or run,
| | dried them in a towel was never woSe ol
| spun.
| Which means dew ard sun, and occnrs
in a Latin fo. IN in the sixteenth century.
The following Russian enigma is chiefly
interesting as bearing, what popular lore
should ever bear, the strong and dis
tiuctiye stamp Of the country 1t comes
from
| In the ocean sea,
On the Island Buyan,
Sits the bird Yustritsa-
| She boasts and brasss
| That she has seen al.
| She has seen the Tsar in Moscow,
The King in Lithnania,
The elder in h cell,
| The babe in his cradle,
| And she has not eaten that
| Which is wanting in he -ea
Death is the answer, and the theme, in
one form Or anuther, is frequently in
Irish riddla.
If any reader think this enigma shade
too sombre, te may have even less pa
tiencs with the riddle jocnlar "Why Is
il that donkeys have such long ears z
To this problem, propounded to the
curions On the banks of the Seine and
Loire. the answer Is because their moth,
ers did not put caps on them in their in
fancy. Why does chanticleer shut his
ewes when singing The answer again
is of highly satisfactory description, be-
..,sa such yncaiists "knOw their music
bv heart" "Why doth dog turn round
thrice before going to sleepr The AMI
nal is in doubt as to where the bolster OF
h;s h,dis "What is the bOldest of all
beasts 2" The miller's ass, which is al
day in the midst of thieves and yet has
no fear. "What strange beast is thai
.hich has no head, seven legs and one
tail p A cat with his head jammed IN
three-legged pot
M EyAKrs has called the scramble fol
office in this country the plAcemsn
-;ds the staiesmAn's scandal and the