Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1898-07-15
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AS TO PUZZLES.

One evening last week Mrs. Williams
asked her husband to step back into
the Kitchen and open big box of gro
celles which had come from town on
that day Mr. Williams ripped Off the
side Of the box and cut number OF
heaNy Irvine fastenings, and then be-
gan handing out the various bundles
winch the lady of the house set in orr
derry array upon the kitchen table.
sugar she said AS a huge bag was
revealed, and coffee-starch-oa
Observation-Disclosures that thng?"
MIR. Williams had dug from the cham
Der of household mysteries a small
package which had no particular form
and which ratified a bit as he handled
Feels like hook and staple or a
sl'oon hook for trolling. Look out or
it'll jab YOU" said Mr. Williams
F'eminnty. however, was not content
to guess at the Identity of the small
parcel when by holding to the light the
printed paper which was twisted about
it some declaration of object and pur-
pose could be gained. She investigated
ana read
The mysterious ball ana the Won
derful ring-the greatest ana most baf-
hing of all puzzles. Then she said:
oh, pSfiaW! les some foolish puzzle
which the grocer put in as an adver-
,ise1ncnt. Throw it out into the street.
by no MEANS" said Mr.. Williams.
with quick decision. ITS valuable"
lie finished his unpucking before he ex-
planned why he thought SO.
Now" he said. after the packages
hau been properly LAID away. IN tell
YOU why that puzzle is i, good thing"
Well you'll have to use a great deal
OF argument to convince me-" Mrs. Will
liams responded. Il think of all the
foolish ways for Il person TO waste
time that which is lost in trying to get
Il ring OFF Il chain az to solve a puz-
zie is the most blamahle.''
Il know. That's the usual narrow
view--excuse me. my dear, l speak sim
ply in Il general way and without in
tending To be particular a to your case
That's the usual view taken by people,
because people do not usually look be-
You'd the surface Of things to see what
is below. On the face of il I suppose it
does seem silly for a man with q bald
head and four grown children to SIT
around working away at a little brass
ring which is caught fast on some LINKS
of steel wire. But | tell you it is really
Il blessing to a man to do it.. Why?
The reason is simple. 1t rests his mind.
Ii takes all thoughts of business away
from him. He is not worried by the
values of grain or stocks: nor is he
Afraid his business house is going to
shut down and leave him without en-
ployment. You give a man good,
reasonable, hard puzzle and he will get
over all his troubles and woes, Tempo
rarily at any rate. l knew Of a man
who was sentenced to the penitentiary
for life and he was not depressed, be-
cause at the time of his railroad jour
ney to the penitentiary he busted him
self on the train with a puzzle, and he
was more worried by the rule of the
! thing which forbade him to bend one
of the straight wires than he was by
the thought that he would never again
| be allowed to see the city or the river
or the great tall buildings or his little
| hSme which he had spent years in get
| ting. o, yes: the puzzles have their us
and they are good. Let's see that one
| anyway.
| He took the puzzle. which was in
| seven sections. and which was made up,
| aside from the little brass ring, ofFwire
| wooden balls and a metal disk. Then
| he looked over the instruct ons contain
| ed on the paper which had Enclosed the
| thing:
| Get tn. ring off the chain without
| breaking an joints or bending any of
| the wires
| He viewed the puzzle critically for a
moment and then smiled.
| "Of course" he remarked t'when !
| said that a puzzle is something useful
1 meant that it must be a hard puzzle
| a poor little easily worked puzzle like
this one certainly Is objectionable. be
cause no skill is required to solve the
! proposition. see how 1t Is. ito b. done
And want to stop light here, my dear
to tell You something about the work
ing OF puzzles. The way to- start is tc
hold the thing up to view and mentally
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