The Strand 1912-4 Vol-XLIII № 256 April mich

WASSILY THE UNLUCKY. 465 for them, and besought her father to let them at least sleep in the stable with the •horses. Marko the Rich grumblingly agreed to this, and she ran before them to the stalls, showed them where was clean hay to lie upon, and wished them a good night. The little girl woke next morning before sunrise and, wondering how the beggars fared, jumped out of bed. dressed herself, and, saying her prayer, ran to the stable. To her surprise she saw that they seemed to be poor beggars no longer, but were clad in splendid robes of rich brocade, like bishops, wearing crowns, and reading strange books. While she looked one of the old men said to the others : \" Brothers, what do you read of that is befalling at this moment ? \" The second answered : \" Brother, in the next village to this, at the hut of the peasant called Ivan, a son is being born.\" The first said : \" \\Ve will give him the name of Wassily, and let him be called the Unlucky. But what inheritance shall we grant him ? \" And the third replied : \" Let him have for his own all the wealth of Marko the Rich, in whose stable we have spent the night.\" Little Anasthasia, wondering at their strange words, ran back to the house, woke her father, and told him what she had seen and heard. The merchant was troubled, and sent messengers after the three old men ; but they could not be found, and at length, desiring to learn if by any possibility there could have been truth in their words, he ordered horses to be put to his gorgeous sledge and drove post-haste to the next village, where he went to the priest and inquired whether a child had been born there that morning. \" A son has indeed been born to the poorest serf in the village,\" answered the priest. \" I myself named him Wassily, but 1 have not yet baptized him, since, on account of the father's poverty, no one is willing to be godfather to the poor child.\" \" I will be his godfather,\" said Marko the Rich, and went out and ordered food and drink and made a plenteous feast, and bade them bring the babe. So the parents brought him, and he was baptized, and all feasted and made merry to their hearts' content. On the next day Marko the Rich drove again to the village and, stopping at the hut of the poor peasant, spoke kindly to him. \" Peasant,\" he said, \" you are a miserably- poor man without stick or stone of your own, or wherewith to support your family, and you cannot properK care for this little son of yours. Why not give him to me ? I will bring him up in a decent manner, and as for you, his father, I will give you for your living a thousand roubles.\" The poor serf pondered the matter well, and at last allowed himself to be persuaded. The merchant accordingly gave him the one thousand roubles, took the babe, wrapped him warmly in his own coat of fox-fur, got into his sledge, and drove away. Now, it was winter-time, the season of

4b6 THE STRAND MAGAZINE. saw the floating boat, brought it to shore, and took the babe to the Abbot. The Abbot named him Wassily. '' And,\" said he, \" since we find him in such an evil case, let us call him the Unlucky ! \" So from that day the boy was known as Wassily the Un lucky, and remained at the monastery, loved of all the monks, till he was eighteen years of age, and had learned to read and write and to be clever. Now once each year Marko the Rich was accustomed to journey to another kingdom to collect money that was owed to him, and on one of these trips the vessel which carried him by chance cast anchor at the monastery, where the merchant spent the night. Noticing one young man who was more sturdy and comely than all his fel lows, the visitor asked his name. \"We call him Wassily the Unlucky,\" replied the Abbot. \" A strange name,\" said the merchant. \" Why is he so called ? '' Thereupon the Abbot told of the rind ing of the babe so many years before in the open boat, and then Markc the Rich knew that the lad was his own godchild, whom twice he had tried to drive out of the world. He pondered deeply in his evil mood, thinking the matter over, when he said to the Abbot: \" How much should I like to possess such a clever, handsome lad as yours ! If I but had him I would appoint affairs to his management, and make him a rich man.'' which he lived and carry an important letter to his wife, while he himself continued his journey. And the sealed letter which Marko the Rich sent by his hand read thus :— \" Marko the Merchant to his wife : As soon as my messenger brings this letter, prepare at once in the kitchen a great cauldron of boiling lye. Call him then to you, and when he passes near the cauldron push him into it, so that he may die. Do this without fail, for this youth works evil against me. If you do not, beware my punishment.\" Wassily the Unlucky took the letter, said farewell with tears to the Abbot and the monks, and, quitting the island, set out on his way. He came at length one night to a wood in which was a poor shed for cows. He HE GAVE THK CHILD TO HIS TRCSTY DRIVER, AND BADE HIM THROW HIM INTO A DEEP RAVINE.\"' entered this to sleep, and found within it three little old beggar-men with white hair and long white beards. him at once my chief clerk, entrust all my they had conversed for some time all fell The Abbot thought over this a long time, excusing himself on one pretext or another when the merchant pressed him to answer. Finally, however, Marko the Rich offered him a sum of twenty-five thousand roubles. The Abbot consulted the monks, and at length it was agreed to let Wassily the Unlucky go. He called the lad accordingly, told him

WASSILY THE UNLUCKY. 467 The second replied : \" It bids his wife prepare a huge kettle of boiling lye and to push this youth into it, so that he may die. How shall we bring this evil to naught ? \" \" Brothers, I will alter the message,\" said the third, and, taking the letter, he blew upon it, saying : \" Let him now carry it without fear, for God will not abandon him.\" When Wassily woke he was glad to think it had been but a dream. The three little old men had already departed, and, feeling the letter safe in his pocket, he went on his way to the town of Marko the Rich. So he came to the merchant's house and gave,the letter to his wife. And when she had broken the seal and opened it, she read thus:— \" Marko the Merchant to his wife: As soon as my messenger brings this letter pre pare at once a festival. Call the priest and the neighbours to thee, and when they are come, marry him straightway to our daughter Anasthasia. Do this without fail, for this youth shall be my heir.\" The wife at once called her daughter, read her the letter and brought her to the youth, and each loved each other from that moment. She dressed the lovely Anasthasia in her richest apparel, adorned her with jewels, and sent for the priest and the neighbours. That same night Wassily the Unlucky and the merchant's daughter were brought under the golden crown, and they remained at the house of Marko the Rich and for some months lived happily together. One day news was brought that the mer chant was returning by ship, and his wife, with her daughter and son-in-law, hastened to the dock to meet him. When Marko the Rich saw them, however, and learned that Wassily the Unlucky was now the husband of his daughter, he flew into a violent passion, and calling his wife aside demanded how she had dared disobey his express command. She replied that she had but carried out his written instruction, and when he had exam ined the letter he had sent her he was com pelled to admit that it was in his own hand writing. He swallowed his rage, therefore, for the time, and began to plan how he might destroy his son-in-law without fail. One day Marko called Wassily to him and bade him prepare to journey at once across three times nine countries to the thir tieth realm. \" In this kingdom,\" he said, \" reigns the Czar Zmey. Go to him and bid him pay you. for me, the sum he owes for rent during the past twelve years, since he has built his palace on land which is mine. When this is accomplished, inquire concerning twelve of my ships which were lost upon his coasts some three years since, and from which no tidings have come. See to it that you start by sunrise to-morrow.\" So next morning Wassily the Unlucky bade his wife farewell, and. with a store of biscuits in his knapsack, mounted his good horse and set out.

468 THE STRAND MAGAZINE. did you travel, and what did you see on your wav So he related to her how he had met the ferryman and the whale, and what each had asked, and while they were yet conversing the ground on which the palace stood began •\"THEN,' SAID THE FERRYMAN, 'WHEN YOU COME BEFORE HIM REMIND HIM THAT NOW FOR THIRTY YEARS HE HAS CONDEMNED MK TO FERRY PEOPLE ACROSS THIS RIVER.'\" to my ribs. Beg him to show me mercy, and ask whether my disgrace and punishment is to last three years more, or if not when I shall be free to swim where I will. Will you say this ? \" Wassily the Unlucky gave the whale his promise and rode on till he came to a green meadow, on which stood a great palace of white stone. No sentries were on guard at the gate, nor any watchman at the door, and he left his horse to graze on the meadow and entered. Within the palace all was still and he saw no one. He went through one room after another, finding each more beautiful than the last, till he came to the inmost chamber of all, and here, sitting on a chair, he found a beautiful damsel weeping. \" Health to you, lovely maiden ! \" he said. \" And to you,\" she answered. \" But what manner of man are you ? How did you come into this dreadful place ? Know you not that this is the abode of Czar Zmey, the Serpent-Czar, who devours a man at every meal ? \" Wassily the Unlucky told her his errand, whereat the girl exclaimed : \" Well that you have seen me first ! You have been sent here not to fetch money from him. but in order that he may devour you. Never mind; I will save your life. But tell me, by what road to shiver and its walls to rumble and shake. \" The Serpent-Czar is coming ! \" she cried. \" You must hide at once ! \" She showed him a coffer beneath the bed, made him lie down in it, and shut its lid. \" Listen,\" she said, \" and you shall hear whatever the Snake says to me.\" Presently Czar Zmey, in the form of a huge serpent, came rolling into the room. \" I smell a Russian smell ! \" he said. \" Who has been here ? \" The damsel laughed, and said she : \" Would a Russian by any chance dare to venture into the innermost room of your palace ? You have been flying about ali day in Russia, and you yourself have brought the odour with you ! \" The Serpent-Czar was satisfied and began to kiss and fondle her without stint, and then, coiling his scaly length on the bed, he said : \" I am tired. Come, my darling, and rub my head so that I may go to sleep.'' So she began to rub his head, and as she did so she said : \" Czar, while you were absent I had such a curious dream ! Would you like to hear it ? \" \" Yes,\" he said. \" I dreamed,\" she told him, \" that I was walking along a high road, and where it crossed

WASS1LY THE UNLUCKY. 469 crossed upon his body. And the monster spoke to me and asked me how much longer it must needs endure that torture and how soon it should be free.\" Then Czar Zmey drowsily answered her: \" It shall lie there until it brings forth again, whole and sound, twelve ships which it swallowed without my permission three years since in the middle of the ocean.\" The girl said : \" Then in my dream I went on till I came to a broad river, where a ferry man plied backwards and forwards. And when he had ferried me over he asked me how much longer he would be made so to labour, and when he should be free.\" Czar Zmey, half asleep, answered : \" Let him only take into his boat the first who comes, and, leaping out himself, push the boat out into the stream. Then will the and hastened back the way he had come. When he came to the arm of the sea and began to cross on the whale the monster saw him, and, opening its wide jaws, called out: '' Well, friend, did you do me the service with Czar Zmey ? \" \" Yes,\" said Wassily. \" And what said he ? \" asked the whale. \" Wait till I am over/' said Wassily, \" and I will tell you.\" So he crossed, and as soon as he came to the other side he mounted on its tail and cried with a loud voice : \" Villagers and wayfarers, you who would not be suddenly overwhelmed, leave this place without delay, for the ocean is about to cover it ! \" Hear ing this, the wayfarers hastened, and the peasants left their ploughing and the children their playing and mushroom-gathering, and ran to their houses and loaded their carts 'TJ-Ut SERPENT-CZAR FELL HAST ASLEEP AND SNORED TILL THE WALLS TREMBLED, WHEN THE (URL OPENED THE COFFER.\" newcomer be compelled to ferry in his place for ever.\" Having thus spoken, the Serpent-Czar fell fast asleep and snored till the walls trembled, when the girl opened the coffer and Wassily the Unlucky thanked her and left the palace. He caught his horse in the meadow, mounted, with all their belongings and carried them to a distance, till the whale was as deserted as if the Tartars were coming. Then Wassily the Unlucky shouted: \" Whale, this punishment has been yours because three years since you swallowed, without Czar Zmey's permission, twelve ships

470 THE STRAND MAGAZINE. in the blue ocean, and you shall be set free only when you bring them forth unharmed.\" So saying, he spurred his horse and leaped from the tail of the whale to the shore. He had need to hasten, for, when it heard, the monster began to move as if a hill were turning over. It thrashed the water into foam and brought forth from its mouth, one after the other, the twelve ships. The sailors rejoiced to see the world again ; they shouted and blew on trumpets, put up their sails, and showed a flag at each masthead. On each ship a priest was chanting the Te Deuin, and altogether there was such a roar of gladness that it waked the whole ocean. As soon as the ships appeared the whale found itself free, and with a mighty splash it plunged into deep water. Then from the waves it opened its huge mouth and cried to Wassily : \" What service shall I do you, my friend, and how shall I repay you ? Will you have great pearls, or the bright-coloured stones that ships carry ? \" \" If you will,\" an swered Wassily, \" I will have as your gift some of the bright - coloured stones.\" The whale dropped to the bottom of the sea, and came back with an enamelled chest in its mouth, and in the chest were jewels whose value and bright ness cannot be told in words, finer than are to be found in the trea suries of all the Czars together. Wassily the Unlucky called to him the cap tain of the ships, and asked : \" Whose ships are these, and whither are you going ? \" They answered: \" These are ships of Marko the Rich, to whom, when we were swallowed by the whale, we were sailing with our cargoes.\" \" I am his son-in- law,\" he said. \" Carry to him these jewels also.\" They would have taken him aboard with them, but he bade them await him at the mouth of the wide river that was the border of Czar Zmey's kingdom, and rode on to where the old ferryman plied in his boat. \" Well, friend.\" asked the ferryman, \" did you do me the service with Czar Zmey ? \" \" Yes,\" replied Wassily. \" And what said he ? '' asked the ferryman. \" When I am over,\" he replied, '' I will tell

WASS1LY THE UNLUCKY. \"IT THRASHED THK WATER INTO FOAM AND BROUGHT FORTH FROM ITS MOUTH, ONE AFTER THK OTHER, THE TWELVE SHIPS.\" So saying ne leaped his horse to the shore, and rode to the river's mouth, where the ships awaited him, and went on board and sailed to the town of Marko the Rich. Now, when they landed at the dock and messengers ran and told the merchant that Wassily the Unlucky had re turned with the twelve lost ships, bringing with him such a great treasure of jewels that it could not be reckoned, he well-nigh lost his senses with rage. He pretended to wel come his son-in-law with joy, however, and said to himself : \" I will send him again to Czar Zmey, and next time he shall not escape, for I will go myself and arrange all things beforehand.\" So, as soon as the rejoicings were ended, he gave out that he must go himself upon a journey, and called for horses and relays and departed. He rode a long way and he rode a short way, and coming at length to the broad river ordered the old ferryman to carry him across. But as soon as he had come into the boat the ferryman pushed it out into the stream, shouting : \" Now, whoever you are, you shall take your turn ! \" and went away rejoicing. And Marko the Rich found himself thus in the power of the Serpent-Czar, and, not knowing the secret, was compelled to ferry people over for ever. So Wassily the Unlucky came to no harm and lived in peace, plenty, and charity with the beautiful Anasthasia, who could not love him enough, and in time he in herited all the lands and treasures of Marko the Rich.

Parodies of Famous Pictures. By RONALD GRAHAM. T was Sir William Abdy, the founder of the Royal Drawing Society, who used to say that the best caricatures of famous paintings he had ever seen were done by children from memory after a visit to the National Gallery. But, of course, these, though many of them extremely funny, were unconsciously so. The essence of their fun lay in their bad drawing. To see a couple of stately figures by Raphael or Van Dyck 'CAPTAINS OF INDUSTRY. posturing as a pair of seedy crossing-sweepers or music-hall low comedians, crowned by bowler-hats and hats with \" fevvers,\" is certainly comic enough to provoke a laugh. But conscious caricature by master draughtsmen is quite another matter. There are, indeed, very few of the world's master pieces of painting which have not been seized upon by pictorial satirists and made to point a passing moral and adorn a current tale. We are told that Hogarth used to caricature Correggio, and that some of his i \" Puck.\" Pn'jli*h cuinjri'jht by permiMrioH oj Meurt. Janiet fle>idt.rfon it Sani Ltd BY MEISSONIF.R. AVom a PMogral'h '••. M A. SlanieU. BY J. S. PrGHE. absurdities in this direction after wards gave great offence to Sir Joshua Reynolds, who was himself much under the influence of Cor reggio. The famous Bunbury took \"Attilaand the Huns\" as the ground work for a skit on the Ministry of George III., and Gillray turned Reynolds's \" Garrick between Tragedy and Comedy\" into \"Georgia (the Prince of Wales) Between Comedy and Farce,\" which nearly got him into serious trouble.

PARODIES OF FAMOUS PICTURES. •173 wfm •... * \" HIGH TRAGKDY.'' BY E. T. I\\EED. Mr. William O'Brien as Mrs. Sicldons. Rrproduatd by thf • <''•'';\"<••\"•'•» of the Proprietort of\" Punch.\" A favourite theme of the parodists is Meissonier's \" 1814,\" which depicts Napoleon and a fragment of his Grand Army in retreat after the disastrous Russian campaign. In England both Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Balfour have been the Napoleon, and in America Mr. Cleveland and Mr. Bryan. In the present example it is Mr. Pier- pont Morgan who is riding along to the sound of a people's suffer ings — probably by agreat stretch of imagination —and we may well believe that the cartoon gave none so much amusement as the great capi talist and Mor- ganizer himself. \"THE PRINCKS IN THE cartoonist- TOWBK.\" For if a political especially a Putk Hv SlR JoHN M|M.A1S. cartoonist—mav VoL *liii.-32. \" not deal in wild exaggeration, what is to be his stock-in-trade ? So numerous, especially in the pages of Punch and the comic journals of nearly every country, are examples of this sort of art that it is by no means easy to make a selection. One of the most frequently-parodied pictures^- is Sir Joshua's portrait of Mrs. Siddons as \"The Tragic Muse,\" but it is doubt ful if it has ever been turned into a more effective political skit than by Mr. E. T. Reed in Punch. Here we see Mr. William O'Brien imper sonating the great actress (a proceed i ng which, with all his Irish versa- MRS. SIDDONS AS \"THE TRAGIC tilitv. he would MUSK.\" never have at- BY SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS. tempted in real From a PhotaymiA by P. llanfitar*tgt. \"THE VICTIMS.\" BY LlNLRY SAMBOUKNK. Ktl>rod»f J bii thf tpttial p#rtni«rion of the Proi>rmton of \"

474 THE STRAND MAGAZINE. life), while behind his chair stand the evil spirits of his distressful country. one that has often appealed to the imagina tion of the painter; al though few have ever treated it with greater sym- pathy and effect than Sir John -Millais, whose picture has long been a favourite withthepublic. In the same way, although The story of the Princes in the Tower is 'KING COPHETUA AND THK BKGUAR-MAID.\" BY SIR EDWARD BURVK- JONKS. From a Photograph by K Hanfttafnfft. frequently parodied, the late Mr. Linley Sambourne's parody is incomparably the best. Here we are shown Mr. Birrell and Mr. Reginald McKenna in the character of the two unhappy Princes, fearful of every footfall and trembling at every shadow. And how bold and firm and true is the drawing ! It is that of a master in his own peculiar genre, and the world of humorous art is the poorer for poor Sambourne's departure. Politics, it should be said, and political themes and persons most frequently form the motive for these engag ing parodies. Nothing is too dignified to serve the cartoonist's turn. Even the late Sir Frank Lockwood did not hesitate to take Burne-Jones's soulful \" Magic Mirror '' as the basis for an extremeK' amusing skit on the politicians of a quarter of a century ago, and, as if this were not audacious enough, sent the skit itself to the outraged artist! How different, and yet how excellent, too, is the style of Mr. Bernard Partridge in his adoption of Burne-Jones's \" King Cophetua and the Beggar-Maid \" ! Much rich pictorial satire has been expended upon the female suffrage movement, and in this picture Mr. : Bernard Partridge has turned Burne-f ones s work to -seiye his comic vein. The Right • Hon. Mr. Asquith here represents the humble monarch of the legend, and all who . are familiar with the latter — and who is not ? — instantly appreciated the parody, which is drawn in Mr. Partridge's best style. The Beggar-Maid equipped with a bell and a flag gives additional point to the satire. \"KING COPHETUA AND THK BEGGAR-MAIL).

PARODIES OF FAMOUS PICTURES. 475 \"LA PI.l'S RF.I.I.E FKMMR I)U MONDE.\" A >»-M nil,,- n.ivii N. bt Ihf Author of MM crtMr. it was intended for. It is worth mentioning that at the same time our own Mr. Max Beerbohm pub lished a caricature of the same B^l subject, almost equally unkind to the lady. \" MONA LISA.\" BY LEONARDO DA VINCI. From a PftofcwrnpA bu P. HatfUnenfl. and \" sketchy\" as any of the old British caricaturists. He is essentially a politician, although when upon occasion he turns aside to hit off in a few strokes some social absurdity or sensation of the hour he can be very funnv Our own time has been fruitful in these artistic transmutations, when the artist From serious works a theme will boldly borrow ; A sermon yesterday—a joke to-morrow. It was John Leech, we believe, who first, under a parody oi one of Landseer's pictures, wrote, \" After Landseer — a long way after,\" a jest which has seen much service since. Mention of Landseer suggests that one of the most brilliant picture parodists that ever lived was M. Aubry, the animal painter. Early in the nine teenth century M. Aubry exhibited a series of burlesques of famous canvases by the eminent painters of the day, in which animals took the place of the human figures. Thus, in his composition based on Girodet's \" The indeed. Thus, when last summer the theft Burial of Atala,\" some dogs figured, and of the \" Mona Lisa\" occurred, the art critics went off into rhapsodies about the superb beauty, not merely of Leonardo da Vinci's painting, but of the subject herself. One gentleman did not hesitate to describe Mona Lisa as \" the most beautiful woman in the world,\" and wrote a column about her winning personality and \" mystic smile.\" This was enough for Forain, and in a few \"THE BURIAL OF ATALA.\" BY GlKODET. Frtnn a /•/,!.? ;>,.,.', by Levy. strokes he laid bare the preten sions of Signora Gioconda to be considered \" the most beautiful woman in the world.\" It may be extremely ungallant, even cruel; but it set all Paris laugh ing, for. in spite of its exaggera tion, there is. no mistaking who yet so skilfully were their attitudes imitated that they became themselves compositions of very striking merit. M. Steinlen and Mr. Louis Wain have both turned their attention to travesties of this kind. The famous picture travesties of Mr. Ralph Cleaver, the cartoonist of the Pall Mall Gazette, are well known, but his best, in

4?6 THE STRAND MAGAZINE. •THE HOPELESS MANAGE.\" BY RALPH CLEAVER. \" Marriage a la Mode \" in the National Gallery. The drawing is clear-cut and vigorous, and the point made by the artist is direct. It will be noticed how closely he adheres to the original \"WILL HK STRANGLE THEM?'' By L. RAVEN-HILL. Etpnducal <>y Uie tfrn:il ftrmntion of the 1'roprictori of • picture, and yet how, working in a wholly different medium, he im parts to his bur lesque a character of its own. Last, but not least, there is Mr. Raven-Hill's skit upon Sir Joshua Reynolds's \" In fant Hercules,\" in which, oddly enough, artists see at once a curious resemblance to Sir Joshua's own style when he attempted pen-and-ink draw ing. Mr. Raven- \" MARRIAGE A LA MODE.'' Bv HOGARTH. From ii I'hotogmph bu f. Haiifitatngl. Hill has attempted many parodies, but we cannot recall one which is as good as this. Of course, the artist has a freer hand when he sets out to caricature the year's pictures at the Royal Academy. We should, in conclusion, have liked to include some of Sir Francis Carruthers Gould's clever parodies—notablv of Lands eer's \"Dignity and Impudence\" and Millais's \" The Knight-Errant\"- BY S.R JOSHUA REYNOLDS. thls artlcle have|> From „ piutagm* *» 3/onwu. alas! been reached. \"THE INFANT HERCULES.\" ^ thC. '\"\"'^ °f

A Page of New Puzzles By H. M. HASKELL. the above illustration we see a sportsman endeavouring to sight his rifle on the gazelle which is speeding out of range, closely followed by Jumbo. The _ elephant is so tall that, although some distance behind the gazelle, he forms an effective shield ; the line from the gun to the top of the gazelle's head being also tangent to the elephant's head. Let us assume that the gazelle is four feet tall, thirty feet ahead of the elephant, and running in a perfectly straight line on a level plain at the rate of twenty-six and two-fifths feet per second ; and that the elephant is nine feet tall, is one hundred and fifty feet from the foot of the palms, and is running at the rate of twenty - two feet per second. In how many seconds will the hunter be able to sight his rifle on the gazelle ? gfoans anfr (lis grerman jJ \"LOTT'S LOT.\" Lett's Lot is in the shape of a right triangle, being subdivided by lines running from the corner, F. to the side A E. LOTT5 LOTs Only two dimensions are given on the above plan, but there are sufficient data to compute the lengths of all other lines.' No fraction need he used. How long are the lines AF, ~~' A B, B C. D E, F C, F D, and FE? HANS AND HIS GERMAN- GARDEN. What is the area of the driveway through the centre of the garden ? Hans has a garden six hundred and nine feet square, through which he has built a driveway twenty-one feet wide, the two sides of the driveway running to d agonally opposite corners of the garden. It is a very pretty problem indeed to figure the exaa area of the driveway. The solutions trill be given next month

PERPLEXITIES By Henry E. Dudeney. 85.—THE CROWDED CHESSBOARD. THE puzzle is to re-arrange the fifty-one, pieces on the thessboard *o tlr.U no queen shall attack another queen. Ho rook attack anollfVr rook, no bishop attack another bishop, and no knight attack another knight. No notice is to be taken of the intervention of pieces of another type from that under consideration. That is, two queer.:; will be considered to attack one another although there may be, say, a rook, a bishop, and a knight between them. And so with the rooks and bishops. It is not difficult to dispose of each type of piece separately ; the difficulty comes in when you have to find room for all the arrangements on the board simultaneously. 86.—A REBUS MOTTO. THIS is not the monogram of Mr. Charles Thomas I'riah Snoggs. It represents a motto that is com mended to the reader. Can you interpret it ? 87.—THE PEAL OF BELLS A CORRESPONDENT, who is apparently much inte- reste I in campanology, asks me how he is to construct what he rails a \" true and correct \" peal for four bells. He says that every possible permutation of the four bells must be rung once and once only. He adds that no bell must move more than one place at a time, that no bell must nuike more than two successive strokes in either the first or the last place, and that the last change must be able to pass into the first. These fantastic conditions will be found to be observed in the little peal for three bells, as follows :— i23 How are we to give him a correct solution for his four bells? Solutions to Last Month s Puzzles. fc * 82.—THE TEN PRISONERS. IT will be seen in the illustration how the prisoners may be arranged so as to produce as many as sixteen even rows. There are 4 such vertical rows, 4 horizontal rows, 5 diagonal rows in one direction, and 3 diagonal rows in the other direction. The arrows here show the movements of the four prisoners, and it will be seen that the infirm man in the bottom corner has not been moved 83.—A PRINTER'S ERROR. THE answer is that i^.g* is the same as 2592, and this is the only possible solution to the puzzle. 84.—A CHESS PUZZLE. IF you place the pieces as follows (where only a por tion of the board is given, to save space), the Black king is in check, with no possible move open to him. The reader w ill now see why I avoided the term \" check mate.\" apart from the fact that there is no White king. The position is impossible in the game of chess, because Black could not be given check by both rooks at the same time, nor could he have moved into check on his last move.

CURIOSITIES. \\We shall be g'ad to receive Contributions to this section, and to pay for such as are accepted.] A LINK WITH THE PAST. THE accompanying photograph, taken by myself, shows how closely the country people adhere to old-time customs and things in general. The old gentleman, now over seventy, still rides his velocipede to work. The machine is constructed almost entirely of wood, and is a source of endless amusement to everyone who sees it. Motorists especially take notice of it, for usually the rider carries his agricultural implements with him.—Mr. \\V. J. \\Vynn, Schonlhouse, Swanton Morley, E. Derelmm, Norfolk. THE FIRST ROOK TO TALK. IN New Street, Horsham, Sussex, there is to be seen the very exceptional and interesting spectacle of a talking rook. The bird [is the property of two school-children, a little girl and boy, who caught it five years ago, when it was quite a baby, in a local rookery. It is of the gentler sex, and occupies a small pen in a tiny back garden. No attempt has ever been made to teach the rook to talk, and yet she has a vocabu lary of close upon one hundred simple words. She is often allowed out in the garden, for, although she can fly swiftly and strongly, she can be trusted not to make her escape. It is said that this is the first instance of a rook developing the power to talk.—Mr. J. C. Bristow- Noble, Rookwood Farm House, VVarnham, Horsham. MADE OF WHEAT AND CORN. MADE up entirely of wheat and corn, this picture represents an Indian woman guiding two hunters through the forest. The American flag on the back of the woman is composed of kernels of white and red corn, while the dress of the hunters, with the exception of the shoes, is made entirely of wheat-stalks. Even the caps of the hunters are formed of wheat, which has been coloured to a dark hue. The shoes of the hunters form the only part of the picture not made up of grain. This novel illus tration, which is framed in sheaves of wheat, was exhibited at the Lewis and Clark Exposition in 1905, and the figures of the hunters are intended to represent those famous discoverers.—Mr. D. A. Willey, Porter Building, Baltimore, Md., U.S.A.

48o THE STRAND MAGAZINE. A WORKING MAN'S HOBBY. EVERY article seen in the accompanying photo graph, which shows a corner of one oi\" my rooms, was designed and made by myself in my spare time. The work is a constant source of pleasure to me, and has been for years, as is evident from the fact that the display here seen is the work of over thirty-six years. —Mr.'A! J. L. Tail, Gasworks, Stow, Midlothian. A CURIOUS LEGEND. THE sculptured stone here illustrated is locally called the \" Marline,\" or \" Dragon's Stane,\" and is supposed to mark the spot where in ancient days a fierce fight took place between a young man named Martin and a dragon, the latter being killed in the struggle. The scene of the encounter is located about six miles north of ' Dundee, near to the base of the Sidlaw Hill, and in the parish of Mains and Strathmartinc. The legend is most in teresting, and is as follows : A farmer in the district, who was blessed with nine lovely daugh ters, one day sent one of them to a neighbouring well to fetch him a draught of water. As she did not return, another was sent to learn the cause of the delay. Neither of them returning, (laughter after daughter was sent, until the whole nine had been dispatched. The father, becoming alarmed at the non-return of his daughters, then set off himself to learn the cause of their delay. On arriving at the spot, he was horrified at the spec tacle which met his gaze. His nine daughters lay dead at the well and a large dragon was throwing its slimy folds around them. The reptile, on seeing the father, hissed loudly, and would have made short work of him also, had he not saved himself by flight. He, however, aroused the whole neighbourhood, and the people turned out in a state of great fright. A young man, the sweetheart of one of the dead girls, boldly attacked the dragon, which took to flight, hotly pursued by the gallant youth. The dragon wriggled its way towards the hills, and was ultimately over taken by the youth in a field near the Sidlaws, where he killed it out right. It is said that during the pursuit Mar tin was followed by a crowd of people, who in their excitement shouted simultaneously to him to \" Strike. Mar- tine \\ \" \" Man, strike '. \" The place where the incident occurred has