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FIRESIDE DEPARTMENT.

Answer to "Enigma of Natural Curiosi

ties," in March Number.

WE are glad to be able to state that our readers have been very successful in solving this enigma. They have not been as successful, however, in finding the errors in it. We have received answers from fifty-five persons, and only seventeen of them remind us that Doctor was spelled with an e.

Phenix; Carrie and Lizzie, and C., Glouces-
ter; A. E. M., Slatersville; E. K., Point
Judith; L. A. W., Gardiner, Mass.; Z. B.,
Providence; I. S., A. B. S., R. A. S., N. S.
B., Burrillville; M. A. W. C., Southampton;
Helen, Taunton, Mass; Annie, Woonsocket;
Nellie, Cleveland, Ohio; H. M., Newport;
I., A., M., Portsmouth; L. C. H, and R. H.
H., Cayuga Co., N. Y.; W. C. G., aged 12
years, Mansfield; N. A. C., North Anson, Me.;
J. N. B., Dilworthtown, Pa.; and John White
Oak.

ANSWER.

Peel, Port Lloyd, Solfatara, Towaligo, Pictured Rocks, Antiparos, Grand Banks, Wey

Three speak of Kentucky as a western, and not, as said in the enigma, a southern state. Three object to the spelling [Weyer's] of Weir's Cave. It is spelled both ways with er's Cave, Geysers, Fingal's Cave, Florida authority.

Two others spell

"Watt,

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"Wats," and consequently makes the phenomenon in Germany read, "Spectre of Shebroken." One correspendent adds the following:

Reefs, Minnehaha, Sea of Rocks, Giant's
Causeway, Natural Bridge, Mammoth, Java,
Ouachitta, Spectre of the Broken, Sindree.
• Whole - Docter Franklin's discovery that
electricity could be controlled, and the knowl-
edge of the power of steam by James Watt.

DESCRIPTION OF SOME OF THE ABOVE
CURIOSITIES.

"If the above is a correct solution, it seems to me, that a little more care on the part of your correspondents, in getting up such articles, might prevent the transmission of erroneous impressions. For instance, if I am not At Port Lloyd on Peel island, the largest mistaken, Dr. Franklin did not make the dis-of the Bonin group in the Pacific ocean, is a covery "that electricity could be controlled," remarkable tunnel supposed to be of volcanic a fact which was previously known; but that origin. It is from 30 to 50 feet high, with lightning and electricity are identical. pillars of volcanic rock, and extends across the entire width of the island.-Commodore Perry's Expedition to Japan.

Yours, truly,

C......."

Friends, you must not trust us quite so implicitly, but look out for our mistakes. Especially would we counsel all teachers to spell Doctor and not Docter.

In the Campagna, between Rome and Tivoli, is the lake of Solfatara, into which continually flows a stream of tepid water from a smaller lake situated a few yards above it.-Lyell's Principles of Geology, page 243.

The Pictured Rocks on the shores of lake Superior, are described as follows in Harpers' Magazine, vol. vI. page 586, as seen from a

The following individuals have sent solutions in season for publication: I. L. C., G., F. H. D., M. S. G., Westerly; W. C. B., Smithfield; M. H. S., New London; E. B. C., A. A. M., W. G. C., M. A. C., B. C., K., | A. M. R., R. A. H., R., M., A., R., A.,Manfred, distance of a few miles: "A portion of the Talbot, and John Dudd, Providence; L., Paw-appearance seems like standing columns, such tucket; C. A. B., T. C., and C. E., Woon- as remind us of the ruins of Tadmor; another socket; H. K. H., Tower Hill; I. O. S., portion lower down the lake strongly resem

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bles a walled town, such as is given us in paintings of Asian and Syrian scenery. A little further on rises a magnificent temple with Grecian portico, in fact, on the model of the Parthenon. Still, a little further on, a row of huge masses almost deceive you into the belief of extensive warehouses, and the illusion is assisted by certain other masses which resemble the sails of shipping, together presenting the picture of an extensive commercial mart. These appearances are owing to the white sand-cliffs which for some miles bound this part of the coast, and which are more or less invaded by the forest."

Spectre of the Broken. This phenomenon is caused by the sun's rays striking the object upon the summit of the mountain in a particular direction; the shadow is reflected upon the clouds and any motion is visible. Superstitious people used to think it was caused by supernatural agency. There is authority for for spelling the word Broken or Brocken. The fort and village of Sindree, on the eastern arm of the Indus, above Luckport, are stated by the same writer to have been overflowed; and, after the shock, the tops of the houses and wall were alone to be seen above the water, for the houses, although submerg

Antiparos, is on an island by the same name ed, were not cast down. Had they been sit

in the Mediterranean sea.

The Grand Bank east of the coast of Newfoundland, is supposed to be formed by the Gulf Stream and the Arctic current.

An interesting description of the Geysers of Iceland may be found in Lyell's Principles of Geology, page 553.

The Sea of Rocks, in the Mountains of Odenwald, "is a large collection of rocks rounded smooth as by action of water, closely resembling waves, situated near the top of a mountain."

uated, therefore, in the interior, where so many forts were levelled to the ground; their site would, perhaps, have been regarded as having remained comparatively unmoved.Hence we may suspect that great permanent upheavings and depression of soil may be the result of earthquakes, without the inhabitants being in the least degree conscious of any change of level.

A more recent survey of Cautch, by Sir A. Burnes, who was not in communication with Capt. Marmurdo, confirms the facts above enumerated, and adds many important details. That officer examined the delta of the Indus in 1826 and 1828, and from his account it appears that, when Sindree subsided in June 1819, the sea flowed in by the western mouth of the Indus, and in a few hours converted a tract of land 2000 square miles in area, into Neither the rush an inland sea, or lagoon. of the sea into this new depression, nor the movement of the earthquake, threw down entirely the small fort of Sindree, one of the four towers, the northwestern, still continuing to stand; and, the day after the earthquake, the inhabitants who had ascended to

The Hot Springs of Ouachitta are found in Arkansas. They are quite numerous, and the water is within a few degrees of boiling heat. -Schoolcraft's Lead Mines of Missouri, p. 258. The following, in reference to Java, is found in Lyell's Principles of Geology, page 353; "There is an extinct crater near Batur, called Guevo Upas, or the Valley of Poison, almost half a mile in circumference, which is justly an object of terror to the inhabitants of the country. Every living being which penetrates this valley falls down dead, and the soil is covered with the carcasses of tigers, deer, birds, and even the bones of men; all killed by the abundant emanations of carbonic acid the top of this tower, saved themselves in gas, by which the bottom of the valley is filled." | boats.-Lyell, page 461.

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For the Schoolmaster.
Geographical Enigma.

BY A SCHOOL-BOY AGED 14 YEARS.

I am composed of forty-two letters.
My 31, 15, 7, 27, 14, 5, 35, is an ocean.
My 36, 40, 19, is a river in Asia.
My 6, 5, 20, 27,
of Europe.

37, 23, is an island south

My 41, 18, 15, 37, are mountains in Asia.

My 42, 37, 21, 9, 17, is a lake in North

America.

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For a long time no one could decipher the meaning, which had been lost, so ancient was the venerable edifice. At length a gentleman My 1, 25, 3, 4, 10, 21, 4, 28, 33, 15, is a told his friends that he had solved the riddle, sea in Asia.

My 39, 1, 15, 34, 15, 11, 21, 29, is a mount in Asia.

and insisted that they also could do the same thing.

To assist them, he informed them that, in My 3, 38, 26, 8, 31, 10, is a country on the order to read the inscription, they must insert eastern hemisphere.

My 32, 13, 6, 1, 3, is an island of South America.

a certain vowel, and only one vowel, in its proper places, and, this done, the inscription would make two lines of poetry, and would

My 22, 21, 12, 30, 14, 22, 5, 6, 20, 15, 23, form an important injunction in reference to is a bay in Europe.

My 6, 19, 21, 16, is a country in Asia.

My 24, 36, 4, is a cape on the coast of Mass. My 39, 29, 2, 30, 31, 3, is the name of a beautiful little bay in New England.

My whole, is one of the greatest events in the history of the world.

For the Schoolmaster.

Enigma.

I.

I AM COMPOSED OF TWENTY-ONE LETTERS.

My 17, 9, 19, 15, 13, 21, 13, 4, 18, 1, 12, was a character well known to the ancients, whose title is applied to some modern scholars.

My 11, 2, 14, is never of any practical value till it is broken.

the commandments engraved above.

Will the readers of the SCHOOLMASTER inform us which of the vowels is to be used, and in what places ?

ANTIQUARIAN.

The Game of Questions.

ONE thinks of a person, place, or thing; the others put questions respecting it, to assist them in guessing, and are answered by "Yes" or "No."

Suppose one thinks of a pin, the others ask |—Is it a person?—No. A place?—No. A thing-Yes. Having ascertained thus much, you know that you must put questions concerning things only. So you begin again :—

My 10, 20, 3, is a term never applied to Is it an animal? - No. Vegetable?-No. anything warm. Mineral? Yes. Now you must put ques

My 6, 20, 7, 8, 5, 12, 16, is what every one tions concerning minerals :-Is it natural ?——

No. Artificial?-Yes.

who seeks me ought to say. Then would follow: My whole has long been the study of emi-Is it made of metal? Earth? Stone? A nent linguists. natural product of this country? Light or

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But what did the huntsman? He shot them not! tiples of 9," said Aunt Fanny," as 18, 27, 36,

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And as I strolled onward along the shore,
A curious circumstance happened once more.
A fisher-maid in a boat on the lake
Rowed to and fro near the thorny brake;
'Twas sundown,-the fishes around her shot,
But what did the maiden? She caught them not!
She sang a song by the forest green,-
Now tell me, good people, what could that mean!

Retracing my steps at evening's fall,
The most curious circumstance happened of all:
A riderless horse stood in the brake,
An empty skiff reposed on the lake;
And passing the grove of alders there,
What heard I therein? A whispering pair!
The moon shone brightly, the night was serene,-
Now tell me good people, what could that mean?

Curious Facts About Figures.

WE take the following interesting and instructive extract from a book recently published by Gould & Lincoln, entitled, "Marcus, the Boy Tamer," being the fourth of the series of "Aimwell Stories." It is an ingeniously written book, intensely interesting, full of thought, provoking thought, and pervaded by a high moral tone.

45, 54, etc. If you multiply these by any number whatever, you will have a series of 9's in the product. Try it."

Several experiments were made, with such results as the following:

46 18

828 8+2+8=18 1+8=9

117 27

3159 3+1+5+9=18 1+8=9 "There is another thing about the figure 9 very curious," said Marcus. "If you take any number composed of two figures, reverse it, and subtract the smaller from the larger, the sum of the figures in the answer will always be 9."

This was found to be true, as in the following examples:

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"That is curious; but why is it so-does anybody know?" inquired Ronald.

The several columns in these tables may be “It will take a wiser head than mine to tell added up in the usual way, or crosswise, or why it is so," replied Marcus.

"I found out something the other day about figures that I didn't know before," remarked Ronald; " and that is, that if you wish to multiply a number by five, you can get the same result by dividing by 2, and adding a 0 if there is no remainder, or 5 if there is a remainder. Thus, 5 times 12 are 60. 12 by 2, and add a 0, and you get 60. Or 5 times 83 are 415; divide 83 by 2, and add 5, because there is a remainder, and you have the same number, 415.

Divide

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diagonally (from one angle to its opposite) and the result will always be the same-15 in the first, and 34 in the second square.

For the Schoolmaster.

Lines Suggested by an Evergreen.

In May I gathered flowers
And early buds for thee:
Too frail to linger long,
They quickly passed away.

Then earth more fair became
Beneath the sun's warm smile :
With summer glories then
I decked thy brow of snow.

Next I did bring to thee
The gorgeous autumn flowers,
With golden fruit, and leaves
That fairer grew in death.

To-day, beneath the snow,
An evergreen I found:
As hope in sorrow springs,
It grew amii decay.

A simple vine of green,
It tells my love to thee;

Just as the verse I write
Without the flowers of rhyme.

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