Enquire Within Upon Everything Part 9

Catalogues..............Got as a clue.

Elegant ................Neat leg.

Impatient...............Tim in a pet.

Immediately.............I met my Delia.

Masquerade .............Queer as mad.

Matrimony...............Into my arm.

Melodrama...............Made moral.

Mids.h.i.+pman..............Mind his map.

Old England.............Golden land.

Paris.h.i.+oners............I hire parsons.

Parliament..............Partial men.

Penitentiary............Nay I repeat it.

Presbyterian............Best in prayer.

Radical Reform..........Rare mad frolic.

Revolution..............To love ruin.

Sir Robert Peel.........Terrible poser.

Sweetheart..............There we sat.

Telegraphs..............Great helps.

51. Arithmorems.

This cla.s.s of riddle is of recent introduction. The Arithmorem is made by subst.i.tuting figures in a part of the word indicated, for Roman numerals. The nature of the riddle--from the Greek _arithmos_, number, and the Latin _remanere_, back again--will be easily seen from the following example, which is a double Arithmorem:

H 51 and _a tub_--a fine large fish.

A 100 and _gore_--a sprightly movement in music.

R 5 and _be_--a part of speech.

U 551 and _as and_--a Spanish province.

To 201 and _ran_--a stupefying drug.

R 102 and _nt_--an acid.

OU 250 and _pap_--a Mexican town.

The answer is Havanna--Tobacco.

_H_alibu_t_, _A_llegr_o_, _V_er_b_, _A_ndalusi_a_, _N_arcoti_c_, _N_itri_c_, _A_capulc_o_.

52. Charades

are compositions, poetical or otherwise, founded upon words, each syllable of which const.i.tutes a _noun_, the whole of each word const.i.tuting another noun of a somewhat different meaning from those supplied by its separate syllables. Words which fully answer these conditions are the best for the purposes of charades; though many other words are employed. In writing, the first syllable is termed "_My first_," the second syllable "_My second_," and the complete word "_My whole_." The following is an example of a Poetical Charade:

The breath of the morning is sweet; The earth is bespangled with flowers, And buds in a countless array Have ope'd at the touch of the showers.

The birds, whose glad voices are ever A music delightful to hear, Seem to welcome the joy of the morning, As the hour of the bridal draws near.

What is that which now steals on _my first_, Like a sound from the dreamland of love, And seems wand'ring the valleys among, That they may the nuptials approve?

'Tis a sound which _my second_ explains, And it comes from a sacred abode, And it merrily trills as the villagers throng To greet the fair bride on her road.

How meek is her dress, how befitting a bride So beautiful, spotless, and pure!

When she weareth _my second_, oh, long may it be Ere her heart shall a sorrow endure.

See the glittering gem that s.h.i.+nes forth from her hair-- 'Tis _my whole_, which a good father gave; Twas worn by her mother with honour before-- But _she_ sleeps in peace in her grave.

Twas her earnest request, as she bade them adieu, That when her dear daughter the altar drew near, She should wear the same gem that her mother had worn When she as a bride full of promise stood there.

The answer is _Ear-ring_. The bells _ring_, the sound steals upon the _ear_, and the bride wears an _ear ring_. Charades may be sentimental or humorous, in poetry or prose; they may also be _acted_, in which manner they afford considerable amus.e.m.e.nt.

53. Charades (Acted).

A drawing room with folded doors is the best for the purpose. Various household appliances are employed to fit up something like a stage, and to supply the fitting scenes. Characters dressed in costumes made up of handkerchiefs, coats, shawls, table-covers, &c., come on and perform an extempore play, founded upon the parts of a word, and its _whole_, as indicated already. For instance, the events explained in the poem given might be _acted_--gla.s.ses might be rung for bells--something might be said in the course of the dialogues about the sound of the bells being delightful to the _ear_; there might be a dance of the villagers, in which a _ring_ might be formed; a wedding might be performed, and so on: but for _acting charades_ there are many better words, because _Ear-ring_ could with difficulty be _represented_ without at once betraying the meaning. There is a little work ent.i.tled "Philosophy and Mirth united by Pen and Pencil," and another work, "Our Charades; and How we Played Them," [1] by Jean Francis, which supply a large number of these Charades. But the following is the most extensive list of words ever published upon which Charades may be founded:

[Note: hyphen added to Art less, Bar rack]

[Footnote 1: "Philosophy and Mirth, united by Pen and Pencil," One s.h.i.+lling.

"Our Charades; and How we played Them," by Jean Francis, One s.h.i.+lling.

Both published by Houlston and Sons, Paternoster Square, London, EC.]

[A FOOL'S BOLT IS SOON SHOT.]

54. Words which may be converted into Acting or Written Charades:

Aid-less Air-pump Ale-house Ann-ounce Arch-angel Arm-let Art-less a.s.s-ail

Ba-boon Back-bite Back-slide Bag-gage Bag-pipe Bag-dad Bail-able Bale-ful Band-age Band-box Bane-ful Bar-bed Bar-gain Bar-rack Bar-row Bat-ten Beard-less Bid-den Bird-lime Birth-right Black-guard Blame-less Block-head Boat-man Boot-jack Book-worm Bound-less Bow-ling Brace-let Brain-less Break-fast Breath-less Brick-bat Brick-dust Bride-cake Bride-groom Broad-cloth Broad-side Broad-sword

Brow-beat Brown-stone Bug-bear Bull-dog b.u.mp-kin Buoy-ant But-ton

Cab-in Can-did Can-ton Care-ful Car-pet Car-rot Cart-ridge Chair-man Chamber-maid Cheer-ful Cheer-less Christ-mas Church-yard Clans-men Clerk-s.h.i.+p Cob-web c.o.c.k-pit Cod-ling Coin-age Con-fined Con-firm Con-form Con-tent Con-test Con-tract Con-verse Cork-screw Count-less Court-s.h.i.+p Crab-bed Cross-bow Cur-tail Cut-throat

Dark-some Day-break Death-watch Dog-ma Don-key Drink-able Drug-get Duck-ling

Ear-ring Earth-quake Ear-wig

False-hood Fan-atic Fare-well Far-thing Fear-less Fee-ling Field-farm Fire-lock Fire-man Fire-pan Fire-s.h.i.+p Fire-work Fir-kin Fish-hook Flag-rant Flip-pant Flood-gate Fond-ling Foot-ball Foot-man Foot-pad Foot-step Foot-stool For-age For-bear For-bid Found-ling Fox-glove Free-hold Free-stone Fret-work Fri-day Friend-s.h.i.+p Frost-bite Fur-long

Gain-say Gang-way Glow-worm Glut-ton G.o.d-child G.o.d-daughter G.o.d-father G.o.d-like G.o.d-mother G.o.d-son Gold-finch Gold-smith Goose-berry Grand-father Grate-ful Grave-stone Green-finch Grey-hound Grim-ace Grind-stone Ground-plot Ground-sell Guard-s.h.i.+p Gun-powder

Had-dock Hail-stone Hail-storm Half-penny Ham-let Ham-mock Hand-cuff Hang-man Hap-pen Hard-s.h.i.+p Hard-ware Harts-horn Head-land Head-less Head-long Head-stone Head-strong Hear-say Heart-less Heart-sick Heart-string Hedge-hog Heir-less Heir-loom h.e.l.l-hound h.e.l.l-kite Hence-forth Hen-roost Herb-age Herds-man Her-self Hid-den High-land High-way Hind-most h.o.a.r-frost Hob-goblin Hogs-head Home-bred Honey-bag Honey-comb Honey-moon Honey-suckle Hood-wink Horse-back Horse-shoe Host-age Hot-bed Hot-house Hot-spur Hounds-ditch Hour-gla.s.s House-hold House-maid House-wife Hum-drum Hump-back Hurri-cane

Ill-nature Ill-usage In-action In-born In-crease In-justice Ink-ling In-land In-mate In-no-cent In-sane In-spirit In-tent Inter-meddle Inter-sect Inter-view In-valid In-vent In-vest In-ward Ire-ful Iron-mould I-sing-la.s.s

Jac(k)o-bite Joy-ful Joy-less Justice-s.h.i.+p

Key-stone Kid-nap King-craft King-fisher Kins-man Kit-ten Knight-hood Know-ledge

Lace-man Lady-bird Lady-s.h.i.+p Lamp-black Land-lady Land-lord Land-mark Land-scape Land-tax Lap-dog Lap-pet Laud-able Law-giver Law-suit Lay-man Leap-frog Leap-year Lee-ward Life-guard Like-wise Live-long Load-stone Log-book Log-wood Loop-hole Lord-s.h.i.+p Love-sick Low-land Luck-less Luke-warm

Ma-caw Mad-cap Mad-house Mad-man Mag-pie Main-mast Main-sail Main-spring Mam-moth Man-age Man-date Marks-man Mar-row Ma.s.s-acre Match-less May-game Meat-man Mis-chance Mis-chief Mis-count Mis-deed Mis-judge Mis-quote Monks-hood Moon-beam Moon-light Muf-fin