The Brecon County Times Neath Gazette and General Advertiser for the Counties of Brecon Carmarthen Radnor Monmouth Glamorgan Cardigan Montgomery Hereford

CHRISTMAS FUN. There are five shillings," said the old gentleman to his grandson-" one for each Christmas you have seen. What more could a little fellow like you wish?" Only that I was as old au; you, grandpa," replied the young financier. Mrs. Tracts: "Well, Jenkins, a happy New Year to you, and I hope you'll turn over a new leaf." The Village Ne'er-Do-Weel: Thank you, mum; same to you." Clara: Lltr. Spooner caught a glimpse of you yesterday, and said he would give any- thing to kiss you. Shall 1 bring lum round on Christmas Eve?" Maud: "No; send him round." Bob: Ito\ are you ge: l to keep Christ- mas Day this year? Jim: I (,tot,i't kito%N. Is there ::nv way of keeping it so it will J-i.st until the 'next one comesT Nurse: "Mercy on l1', Bobbie; You haven't already eaten i.) wife and all the ,lweolat, anima] ii, Arl, Bobbie: "Not 'avf, nurse! Ah:! I'd have eaten the Ark. but h was iii.uV > c;.ruboard. SO baby's fiJJi]ling it up, a-- he's 11;1t so par- t-ikler The restaurant nianager SiCVA1 behind the cashier's desk. An old gentlci: came up. "I notice," snid he, "that you that you make your own pies. Will you permit me to offer a suggestion ? "Certainly, sir, cerrai-sly." "Well, tl)(,ii. let, e else iiizik-e *ern." The Sunday-School Teacher: chi]- dren. v.e bear in mind that between cur last week' lesson and this, a very i:r.portant event has taken place. Yes, Aiiiiie noticing a little girl the end of the clas smiling knou ingly—" you may tell us what it is," Father's joined a C!:ristma" Club." Si-ipps." rln1 1 o." 1 firm, "my partner and myself axe very much pleased with the work you have b"en doing." "Thank you, sir," replied Scripps. with visions of a substantird Christmas-box before, his eyes. Yes," continued the other, we thought you would be glad to know that you are giv- ing satisfaction." The Baron (who has been rebuffed) Veil. I call you Mces Holly-bush, because you are very bretiy to look upon, but von empraee you he scratch himself" Heiress: And I will ctdl you •' Baron Mistletoe The Baron: Den I ean dake dot as a gompliment? Heiress: Not quite. The mistletoe is a foreign parasite plant, which flourishes vastly v ti engrafted on British oak. Savez- vous, B- on?" Cynic -It is impossible for a woman to keep a eret." Henpe^kke: "I don't know about that; my wife decided that I was to buy her a new diamond ring this Christmas weeks before she said anything to me about it." First Sprightly Young Lady: "Mr. Hug- gins is coming to our party, and he is colour blind, you know." Second Sprightly Lady: Does his colour- blindness add to your enjoyment?" First Sprightly Young Lady: "Rather; he thinks all the holly berries are mistletoe Mother (severely): "Grace, that young Mr. Spooner has been boasting t at he stole at least a dozen kisses from you at the party the other night." Daughter (indignantly) It isn't true, mother. I gave them all to him. And he gave me most of them back." J ■ The R ector Thank you for your season- able wish, my little man; but th'is is an im- portant ef the closing year. Give me the tidings, and I will give you sixpence." Boy: Yessir. Father's broke his leg; baby's got the whooping cough; and mother's sold the mangle to pay the rent!" Two young lovers were having their usual stroll in the country, and were talking about their engagement, when Tom said: Ah, Lily, dear. 1 think this will be the jolliest Christinas l-ove ever had. Now that we are engaged 1 only think of the future." Lily looked at him, and snid: Do you? Well, at this time of the year 1 only think of Uie present." And she got it. A little boy had eaten too much mince pie for his Christmas supper, and was soon roar- ing lustily. His mother's visitor was much disturbed. If he was my child," she said, "he'd get a good, sound spanking." He deserves it," the mother admitted, "but I don't believe in spanking him on a full stomach." "Neither do I," said the visitor; '!l'd turn him over."

LALL 111GIETS SBSBSVED.]. AH F CAROLINES I PUZZLE PARTY, SOME CURIOUS POSERS BY HENRY E. DUDENEY Author of The Canterbury Puzzles, and Ofche Curiouc Problems," &c. The mere mention of puzzles during the merry season of Christmas always revives memories of dear old Aunt Caroline. Tc know Miss Caroline Baynes, of Ecclesfolc Manor, in the Weald of Sussex, was tc h> v.- jK-r One remembers her a-s an ex ainplt- of t-lie best type of mid-Victoria.T gentlewoman; educated, but. modest; finr in her convictions, but tolerant of those who differed from her; recognising the eseenti-al difference between the sexes, bu< proud of her womanhood; sweet and sym- pathetic in disposition, without weakness OJ any tendency towards false sentimentality, A kind mistress and a delightful neighbour, it is not surprising that her friends were I THE HOTSE-PARTY AT ECCLESFOLD MAXOR. legion. She was passionately fond of her garden. an accomplished hou-sewife, and greatly interested in all kinds of needlework, But there was one thing that always afforded her great pleasure—indoor pastimes, and particularly puzzles; and it is to some of J these puzzles that, I propose to draw the reader's attention. On the particular Christmas Eve that I have in special memory the house-party at Ecclesfold Manor consisted of Aunt Caro- line's broiher. Uncle Richard Baynes. an underwriter a: LI.-yd'.?, his wife, Aunt Betty, and their daughter Susan. Also, there was their married daughter Mary, with her hus- bajid, Dr. Fred Rixton, and two young nephews, the brothers Jack and Harry Bur- ton. The village parson, a widower, the Rev. John Christopher Mason. and his daughter Monica, were also guests for the evening. Counting myself, we were a merry party of eleven gathered round the hospi- table hearth. It was Susan Baynes who first suggested that we should make it a puzzle party. "Aunt Caroline," she said, "shall give us one of her favourite posers, aud everybody must contrive to present some puzzle for the amupem-ent and perplexity otf the company." Without further preamble I will give the puzzles that were forthcoming, as I find them recorded in some notes that I made at the time, which I have recently discovered among my old papers. THE VICTORIA CROSS. Aunt Caroline pulled open the drawer of a side-table, and produced a little board marked in nine divisions, at in our illustra- tion. Then she placed on it eight lettered counters; in the order indicated, so that they sp-eh. the name VICTORIA when read in a clockwise direction. "Now, she said. "you have to slide the counters one a: a time, from black to white and white to black alternatelv. until the word reads correctly in the same direction, only with the initial letter v on one of the dark arms of the cross. If you move them in the following curious order: A VICTOR! A VICTOR! A VICTuR 1: you will find that it can be done in twenty-two moves. But the puzzle is to do it in as few as eighteen." At the time nobody succeeded in solving the puzzle but Jack Burton found the solu- tion next morning. Can you discover it?

SHOOTING BLACKBIRDS. Here is a little riddle that amnsed me when I first heard it." said Uncle Richard, stroking his Dundreary whiskers. "Twice four and twenty blackbirds Were sitting in the rain. I li4Dt and killed a seventh part. How many did remain?" "Ah:" criftl Master Harry. I am afraid j there is something wrong there. How can I-.ou I part of forty-eight black- birds? I: is eiiire right." replied Undo Richard. Light gradually dawned on the company, and in the end they got the answer right. THE CARD FRAME. Mr". Rixton next produced a pack of cards, and selecting the ten diaiiioiids-itee to ten—arranged them in the form of a frame, as in the illustration. She pointed out that, the pips on every side of the frame added up twenty, and B^ked the company to rearrange them so that they would add up twenty-two. Can we arrange them in a different form?" asked Monica Mason. "No." said Mary, "the frame must be built in exactly the same way, apart from a l readjustment of the cards." One by one the company found the solu- I tion. Aunt Caroline was first and Susan I Baynes [he last to discover it. CENSUS PUZZLE "I vonder if any of you knew this little perplexity?" said the. Rev. 1:- Zdason. "At the last census it occurred. Mv parishioners, Mr.^ and Mrs. Wilkins, had n'i.een children, all born at intervals of one year and a-half. A marvellous series of coincidences, vou will rightiy say. Weil. Ada Wakins. the eldest daughter, had an objection to ~;at:ng her age to the ceiiMi- man. but. she ad rr it ted' that he wa." stvtu viaie* older tnan Jotmnie, lie yotinge: of all. What was Ada's age? The party utterly broke over this puzzle Even Dr. Fred, who rather prided him>e!f on his arithmetical powers, admitted that he was beaten, when the Vicar ex- plained the answer. Let not the read' r be over-confident himself. THE FIVE DOMINOES. Jack Burton aert hunted up a 01 dominoes, and selected five, which ho ar- ranged in a row as follows: 1—1. 1-2, 2-0, 0-0, 0—3. "The puzzlle." he explained, "is to ar- range five dominoes in proper sequence (that is. 1 against 1, 2 against 2. and so on. a-~ I have done), so that the total number of pipe on the two end dominoes is rire. J am show- ing you one arTangemeinf. How m-anv otber ways are there? And how armng-k- ments of five dominoes, if the two end ones are to sum to six, instead of 5ve? THE TWENTY Pili. Susan Baynes. who afp-p- a red to ly bur- dened with a large number of brn rze coins, then arranged sixteen of phese in the form of a •square. She pointed out that t.h-'re was t-he same number of pennies in every row, every column, i (I in each of the two long diagonals. This was so obvious that some of the party smiled. "Now." said, "ear. yor. do the same with ,hee twenty petrnies? "That can vow arrange them in a square thai will add up alike in all the directions I have sho-wn? Thrs was soon accomplished lnv Harry Burton. then said he had a little arith- metical pi zzle that was not very difficulft.. THE BAG OF LTTS. "Three hoys." said Harry, "were given a bag of nuts as a Christmas present, and it was agreed that they should be divided in proportion to their ages, which -aogether amounted to seventeen and a-juu'' years. The ba.g contained 770 nuts, and as often as Hubert took four Robert to'-k three, and as often as Herbert took six Charles took goven. How many nuts did each receive, and what were the boys' ag1" Of course. Dr. Fred got. tie answer vecy quickly, but it perplexed some of the others for a ccmsiderafole time. h fast, A rait Caro- line was the only lady who attempted it, but she was successful. THE CHEQUERED ErOakDE. -NuN,, Aunt Betty." sasd Susan, "I caa see you have something good tiro "Our 8ieeM. Do let us 1, i; it: Well, it is not exactly up my gfee"f. but here it is." she rallied, producing two squares of pretty silk brocade, in our illus- trati-an we have not attempted to the precise pattern, v.hk-h NNak very hand- some, but it was a chAltered design as

r w

SPECIAL VALUE IN XMAS FRUIT. New Raisin3 4d., 5d. and 6a. per lb. Gd. ti-ud 7d. pec lb. Or 4d., 4i^„ 5d. and 5id. per lb. Peel 4d.. 5d. and 6d. SPECIAL ASSORTMENT OF Crackers end Xmas N-overties W. Q. OEAwE'S) Bridge Stores, Brecon.

shown. My dear Caroline and 1 harve been amusintg ourselves with thi- neecflework puzzle for some days, and. I iB*y say she found tiie solution at. last, thotith I should Dever have d uu- so tiiy.-> if." Wha t h a,, we to aeten Monica. "Yon see." expiaine-d Auu.t Betty, "ro piece contains eight by eight of those little squares, and :he other piece six by six. Now, I want to cut the two squares in four pieces so that they will fit together and form a square cushion^cover containing ten by ten of these squares. Of course, the pattern must properly match, and I must on:}" out al-i.ng the lines dividing the squares. Yen see. ihe jiatiern is not repeated at tlie back, so we cannot turn any piece over. I to manage it so that as small a piece a*, possible caC froei the larger portrkxn. You need not allow, for turnings." The con-iteration of ;:710 to be adjourned for private individu: u:ves ^atioa.,

THE EARTH'S GJRLLE. "Here i.s a little problem," .-«).K) Dr, Fivd Rixton, tiiat nerhaps yot; v ^i.rl not- aH be expected to right, if you will per- don the sug«ectiom, bm it will be interestUag to hear haphazaid gue-se at the answer. Puck, in 'A Mi-ds'-un .ner- N i gjhifr Dream." said. I'll put a girdle round -bout the earth in forty m IIle,. Let. us r-jppoa* that the earth were a perfect sphere .Yith a smooth surface, and a. -girdle steel wsaa placed round the equator so that it hotcliaj at every point. If it were after ward- decidfei thiat six vai-ds -.hculd be to tl:1" lengfe of tiie gi-rdi ■. what would then be tiie dfia- tance bctv, een tiie girdle and the earth, 511p- posing the distance t-O be equal all round? It is obvious." said Uncle Riciuard, that the distance •.■.ould be very small." I do not suppose you would be able to your hand underneath." put in Mr. !Mvjh. Nor a sixpence," said Art- Caroih-(,. Nor even a sheet of paper," Jaek Burtoa thought. Tiie difference would be 80 sliaJli in such a lengthy girdle that it would not worth considering." Then Dr. Fred gave the correct answer, and they were ali amazed. Wba. the reader's idea on the l att-er Then somebody remembered mat Monica Mason alone had not produced a i.zsJf and she was called upon to deliver forthwith.

WHAT WAS THE TIME? "The puzzle that. 1 can at the moment think of i- said M i:-a. "A man the other day. wishing to knew the time, sought the inform-on from a Loodon constaote. This was curious answer, v r 't 1 think speaks well for the intelligent of tn. force. If you ad a one quarter of the time froja Doon till now to half the rime from now tifi noon to-morrow, you will get the time sot- actlj, What was the time of day when lie policeman spoke?" These are all the puzzle? that I recorded on that interest ing occasion, but I hope it will. be considered that they are not lacking U interest or triety.

THE ANSWERS. The showers c, puzzle g win br ill out !L'X', K-QG.