Each day a certain sum's been given, The purchaser, this watch approves, Must keep up payment while it moves; No metal case, no metal hand; This costly watch, so strange to say, But all that yet this watch have bought, you would learn the maker's name, Pray have you seen the watch I mean? In every land it has a place.-J. W. 4. A blessing but rare on earth to be found; 5. My first four letters show at once My whole a certain queen doth own, Her mind, which had for months been sore, cares oppress'd. With stately ANSWERS TO ENIGMAS, CHARADES, ANSWER TO PRACTICAL PUZZLE, NO. XVI. AFTER having placed the glass and coins as in AUNT BELLA'S CHALLENGE TO P. MY DEAR MR. EDITOR,-However difficult a problem may be, yet when we are acquainted with the solution, it almost always-if a legitimate puzzle-appears easy to us just in proportion as it seemed hard before Ariadne having furnished the clue, it hardly requires a Theseus to thread the labyrinth. If this be a correct canon, (and judging from the many admirable enigmas exemplifying it, with which you have favoured the riddle-loving public, I think you will agree with me that it is,) you must excuse me if I say that this poetical poser, No. 1, (p. 178, vol. ii), seems hardly worthy of the Family Friend, I may, perhaps, be no Edipus, and, therefore, not entitled to pass my criticism upon it, but I should feel exceedingly obliged if you would allow "P," the Sphinx who propounded the riddle in question, to expose my stupidity in public by showing your readers that the answer to the enigma (The HEART) exactly tallies with all the requirements that it contains." AUNT BELLA. P.'S REPLY TO AUNT BELLA. DEAR AUNTY,-I did not expect such a heart-less criticism as you have subjected my bit of enigmatical rhyming to. But as you have challenged me to defend myself, I commence the task at once. The heart of the human (and of most animal bodies) is a fountain, propelling blood through the general system; it is concealed by arches of bones, and branches of blood-vessels, &c. &c. Maidens and swains are near their own hearts; and if that rendering be not allowable, then admit that they are near their lovers' hearts, or fountains-this will do quite as well. The streams wander wherever man wanders-without these streams man could do nothing-the overflowing of these streams (bleeding) we view with dread. The jets of Versailles could not be kept up but by the labour of man, who is himself sustained by the streams of his own internal living fountain. Wherever man is-far or nearthere the heart-fountain necessarily exists. The streams of this fountain, flowing from the Saviour's side, took away the sins and sorrows of the world, and thus washed away many a tear." Blood flows in the organ of sight, and without this, sight could not be enjoyed, yet the streams of blood cannot be seen. Adam and Eve were, of course, near this fountain, which flowed in their own breasts. And now, dear Aunty, are you satisfied 1 heart-ily hope you may be so. Believe me I shall mind my P's and Q's in future, and hope still to be your affectionate neffy,' [We think the Enigma an excellent one. It proved a 66 poser "to many; and was solved by a less number of dicated, simply scratch the table-cloth with the persons than is usual.]-ED.8 i 189H EDITED BY HERR HARRWITZ. PROBLEM No. XIX.-By a young Amateur.-White playing first, mates in 4 moves. 1. K. P. 2. 2. K. Kt. to B. 3. 7. Q. to Q. Kt. 3. 9. Q. B. to Kt. 2. 10. B. takes P. 11. Q. to Q. B. 2. 12. Q. B. P. 1. 13. Q. to Q. B. 8." 14. K. P. 1. 15. Q. B. P. 1. 16. Q. to Q. B. (b.) 17. K. B. to Q. B. 4. (ch.) 18. Q. takes Kt. (ch.) 19. Q. to Q. B. 2. 20. Kt. takes K. P. 21. P. takes K. B. Black Mr. Harrwitz. 1. Q. Kt. to B. 3 2. K. P. 2. 3. K. B. to Q. B. 4. 4. B. takes P. 5. B. to Q. R. 4. 6. P. takes P. 7. K. Kt. to K. 2. 8. Q. B. to Kt. 3. 9. P. to Q. 6. 10. Kt. to Q. R. 4. 11. Castles. 12. Q. P. 1. 13. R. to K. B. 3. 14. P takes P. 15. Kt. to Q. 4. 16. K. Kt. to K. B. 5. 17. Q. Kt. takes B. 18. Q. B. to K. 3. 19. Kt. takes K. Kt. P. (c.) 20. Kt. to K. B. 5. 21. R. to K. Kt. 3. (ch.) 22. K. to R. (d.) 23. K. B. P. i. (e.) 24. Q. to K. B. 2.. 22. Q to K. Kt. 4. 23. B. to K. R. 6. Mates in two Moves, Solution to Problem XVIII., p. 182,1 WHITE. 1. R. to Q. 5. 2. K. to B. 2.. 3. K. takes Q. 4. B. to K. Kt. 3. BLACK. 1. K. to B. 5. (best. 2. P.queens. (ch.) 3. K. to K. 6. 4. P. moves. 5. B. to K. B. 2. Checkmates. NOTES TO GAME XIX. FRANK MEANWELL; OR, I MISTAKEN PURPOSES. CHAPTER VIII. any other accusations. Mr. Capel was therefore discharged, upon finding heavy bail for his re-appearance. This he did with difficulty; but, having at last succeeded, he was allowed again to go at liberty, free from the fetters of the law, but not from the chains of conscience, and the gloom of fear. Time passed on: each day seemed an age. The very uncertainty and insecurity of his position, which he fully understood, was worse than almost any punishment the law could have inflicted for his wrong doing. He knew that his position was gone, and that the wealth for which he had sacrificed all honest principle, for which he had plotted and schemed night and day, was no longer his own. He was unable to attend to any kind of business, but was as a man insane. The idol of his hopes was shattered. The golden fruit for which he had climbed so long, proved like the apples of Sodom, ashes to the taste. But, lamenting HAD the arrest of Mr. Capel been known to the public he would have met with few sympathisers; for, apart from the circumstances by which he had gained his wealth, his conduct, since he obtained possession of Meanwell's business, had been calculated to offend and disgust all those with whom he came in contact. The elevation of his position had driven away all considerations of politeness, and he made enemies of those who might have been useful to him. Finding that Mr. Yardley (who had hitherto managed the hosiery business with success) refused to allow himself to be treated with the vulgar indignities to which Capel sub-more his want of success, grieving rather jected all those who were under his control, he determined to discharge him, with the mistaken idea that faithful services can always be purchased by money. that he could not blot out from existence every impediment to his attainment of the riches he coveted, he was the rather anxious to devise some new plan to secure him in The examinations of the prisoners were the position his dishonesty had gained, conducted with great privacy, and nothing than to retrieve what he had done amiss. transpired, save that no evidence was pro- Alas! to him, and all such, return to virtue duced except that of Mr. Wynne, the detec-is doubly hard; for each act of guilt builds tive officer, who requested that the parties might be remanded till further evidence could be produced, and that search warrants might also be granted. This request was acceded to in the case of Mrs. Mallalieu and Barney, who were charged with theft; and a search warrant was given, empowering the constables to examine the premises occupied by the former. The charge against Mr. Capel was merely that he had been in the riot at Marton Fields, and had, on opening the door to admit the rioters, by the language he used, encouraged them to commit violence. The accusation was put in this form, at the suggestion of Mr. Harvey's legal adviser owing to the difficulty of proving any other charge till possession of the broker's papers was obtained. It was hoped that there was sufficient evidence to induce a magistrate to commit Mr. Capel upon this charge; but the mysterious beggar having decamped as soon as the broker was arrested, his evidence was not forthcoming upon this, or VOL. III.-NO. XXXII. up behind the criminal a fresh barrier between him and the path of rectitude. Why had not this mysterious beggar appeared against him? Could he, moreover, be mistaken in his recognition of the face, as he looked out into the street? These questions, and a hundred others of a like kind, passed through his mind. Sometimes he assured himself that he had seen a ghost; and then he would ask himself what Mr. Wynne had meant when he had told the magistrate that there were other charges against the prisoner. Could there be any clue to the means by which he had obtained his riches? He took out from a drawer in his desk the papers which he had so cleverly contrived, and looked at them in bitterness of heart. At that moment, what would he not have given to have undone all he had contrived! All the objects he had gained, and all those he still longed to accomplish, would have been but a small price for so great a boon; but all were not enough to purchase the re-opening of the I turned leaves in the book of time, or to make the recording angel to blot out the history from the lengthened scroll. The repentant wish was but a passing sigh nevertheless, and with its passage came new thoughts of plots, contrivances, and-if the end could not be accomplished without it-crime! "This beggar," thought the schemer, "if he be the man I fear, is human, and has his price; or, if too revengeful to be bought, he is mortal, and is not likely to be missed." The broker appeared startled by his own thoughts; and writhing like a boa constrictor, descended from his perch upon the stool. A few strides in the darkening shadows of his office seemed to calm his fears, and accustom him to his dreadful thoughts; and he was about to recurl himself upon the top of his accustomed seat, when a shadow of a man, standing on the low railings before the window, and looking in again, startled him. Though the dusk of evening had so increased in the smoky atmosphere of the place (where day was loth to enter and glad to fly), that Mr. Capel was unable to see the features that were pressed against the glass, he appeared to recognise the figure, the sight of which seemed to agitate him with a mixed emotion of fear and satisfaction. The broker was unable or unwilling to speak or move; but the man had probably seen his pale face, for having jumped down from the railings, and pushed open the door, he entered Mr. Capel's office. There was a long silence; and each could hear the heart of the other beat. "Well!" said the stranger, in a peculiar thick voice, that was easily recognisable. The monosyllable seemed to go through Mr. Capel's breast like a bullet, and stop his pulse. Another long pause. 66 Have you nothing to say to me-no thanks to offer?" inquired the visitor. "Who-are-you-and why do you come here?" asked Mr. Capel, with manifest tremor and insincerity. I am only the beggar that you caused to be arrested, and who, as a return compliment, gave you a taste of his power-and of his forbearance," replied the man, with a strong emphasis on the last word. "That-does not-inform-me whoyou are," stammered Capel. "That's my definition of myself, and the only one I shall now offer. Mr. Capel will know me better by and by. So let us to business." Thus speaking, the beggar laid his hand upon the shoulder of the broker, and continued, in a familiar but commanding tone "Come, close the shutters, and let us have a light. There are some papers here which I wish to see. The doors can be fastened too, and then we shall be all snug. Nothing like being comfortable, Mr. Capel, when business has to be transacted." If time had rolled back, and Mr. Capel had been the poverty-stricken clerk again, he could not have been more servilely obedient. The shutters were on the outside, and Mr. Capel, as he closed them, was evidently in haste. Perhaps he feared lest the beggar might help himself to some of the papers of which he spoke. A candle was obtained from his own shop, where the young men were surprised to find the broker so late at his office. Mr. Capel entered, as pale as the tallow which nourished the light he bore, and hesitatingly closed the door after him. The beggar had seated himself so that his back was towards the broker, and remained seated till he heard the spring close the fastening, when he suddenly turned, and pushing his slouched hat from his head, stood face to face with the horrified schemer. "You thought me dead, Capel," said he in a jocular tone; "but here I am, you see. Come, don't be frightened-I'm no ghost, and to prove it, let me have something to eat. When somebody else that we know had these premises, he used to keep biscuits and wine in that cupboard yonder, and I dare say that the man who possessed his business has his biscuits also." The broker stood like a man struck by lightning-motionless, speechless, colourless. It was the same face he had seen in the street the night of the storm. The man helped himself to some cake and wine which he found in the place indicated, eating as if he was extremely hungry, and, ever and anor, thrusting his fore-finger into the hollow of the motionless cheek, where the morsels of food accumulated between the palsied muscles and the gums. "Well, this is not a bad place, and I hope we shall spend many happy hours in it, Capel-eh?" said the visitor. "I thought you were dead," murmured the broker at last, vacantly. "And naturally enough wish me so now," interrupted the other. "There's nothing like plain speaking. This wine is as flat as ditch-water, and the biscuits are mouldy; but I am too hungry to be very particular." "Make yourself at home," said Mr. Capel, with an effort to force his Don Quixote face into a smile, and twisting his snake-like fingers through one another. "Of course I shall," replied the beggar; "and now let us come to an understanding. As I said just now, I like plain speaking, and as no one is by, let us not wrap up what we have got to say in lamb's-wool, or scent it with lavender-water. You are a great rascal, you know, Capel." The quondam clerk did not contradict the assertion, although the speaker paused for a response. "You are a scoundrel," reiterated the man, "and I am not much better. I know all about it," continued the visitor with nonchalance, as he seated his dapper figure on the back of a chair beside the cupboard, "and that's my definition of you and myself!"' There seemed to be a dark spell upon Mr. Capel, and he said nothing, though his lips moved. The visitor continued to munch the biscuits as fast as his palsied face allowed him, and drank freely of the wine. The dark eye of the broker noticed the latter circumstance, and bit his nails less nervously while he watched the frequent emptying of the glass. At length the stranger's appetite seemed appeased, and no more wine remained in the decanter, when the beggar, whose face had been clean shaved, and who now possessed a vulgar kind of respectability, descended from his antic position, and drawing up his chair towards the broker, said in his peculiar thickened tones: "At school, Capel, when we found out that a companion had robbed an orchard, or the like, we used to cry halves!' and I cry halves' now. You understand me, Capel? Give me half, and I'll let you have half; but if you refuse me my share you shall have none. That's plain speakTing." "Well," stammered the other, as a shade of dark design passed over his leathern face, "you will give me a week to consider, and to make arrangements?" "I'll not give such a scoundrel five minutes to plot and contrive," replied the beggar," but as I know him to be as big a rogue as myself, I shall require him forthwith to agree to the proposal, and what is more, to give me security for his fulfilment the contract. My profession has made me suspicious, Capel." "What security can I give you?" inquired the broker. "I cannot give you any security. I have-" "Let us have no nonsense of that sort; you know it will have no effect upon me. There are two or three little bits of paper that will be very good security to me. One is the document you made poor Bamford sign; the second is the receipt which you have forged"-the broker started at the words;-" and the third, the transfer of the shares. Come, hand 'em over!" The broker, with a look of great wretchedness, rose as if to take his keys from the drawer of his desk, but turned again to ask, "And what security have I that you will keep to your part of the agreement?" "The punctual payment of your headmoney, Capel; and that without shuffling. That's my definition of it. Come, its getting late, and I have to look for decent lodgings to-night-so hand over the papers, and let me have five pounds on account." The crest-fallen swindler did as he was bid in silence, and placed the whole evidence of his dishonesty in the hands of the beggar, together with five sovereigns. "There," replied the man, 66 now you may rest in perfect ease for a while. Attend to business, and have the books and all ready for me this day week. Good night!" He was gone, and ere Mr. Capel had time to collect himself for a reply, had banged-to the outer door, and passed the window with a rapid step. The summer of Mr. Capel's prospects had been blighted; his hopes were withered. His plans, like the leaves, which but recently looked full of life, were falling away. As in the yellow fields, beyond the shades of the city's murky smoke, the husbandmen gathered in the fruits of their labours and their forethought, so Mr, Capel was |